There were three farmes in the north As they were passing by They swore an oath a mighty oath that Barleycorn should die One of them said drown him And the other said hang him high For whoever will stick to Barleygrain a-begging that he will die
They put poor Barley into a sack On a cold and rainy day And brought him up to cumfield And buried him in the clay Frost and snow began to melt And the dew began to fall Then Barleygrain put up his head And he soon surprised them all
Being in the summerseason And the harvest coming on Is the time he stands up in the field With his beard like any man The reaper then came with his sickle And used me barberously Oh he cut me by the middle so small And he cut me above the knee
The next came was the binder And he looked at me with a frown But in the middle there was a thistle Which pulled his courage down The farmer came with his pitch fork And pierced me to the heart Like a thief, a rouge or a highwayman They tied me to the cart
The thresher came with his big flail And soon he broke my bones Could grieve the heart of any man to hear my sighs and moans The next thing that they've done to me They steeped me in the well And they left me there for a day and a night Until I began to swell
And the next thing that they've done to me They dried me in the kiln They used me ten times worse than that They ground me in the mill They used me in the kitchen They used me in the hall oh They used me in the parlour among the ladies' all
The Barleygrain is a comical grain it makes men sigh and moan But when they take a glass or two They forget their wives at home The drunkard is a dirty man he used me worst of all Oh he drank me up in his dirty mouth and he tumbled against the wall