Page:Poems that every child should know (ed. Burt, 1904).djvu/122

84 They took a plow and plowed him down,

Put clods upon his head;

And they ha'e sworn a solemn oath

John Barleycorn was dead.

But the cheerful spring came kindly on,

And showers began to fall;

John Barleycorn got up again,

And sore surprised them all.

The sultry suns of summer came,

And he grew thick and strong;

His head well arm'd wi' pointed spears,

That no one should him wrong.

The sober autumn entered mild,

And he grew wan and pale;

His bending joints and drooping head

Showed he began to fail.

His colour sickened more and more,

He faded into age;

And then his enemies began

To show their deadly rage.

They took a weapon long and sharp,

And cut him by the knee,

Then tied him fast upon a cart,

Like a rogue for forgery.

They laid him down upon his back,

And cudgelled him full sore;

They hung him up before the storm,

And turn'd him o'er and o'er.