Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/John Barley-Corn, My Foe




 * John Barley-corn, my foe, John,
 * The song I have to sing
 * Is not in praise of you, John,
 * E'en though you are a king.


 * Your subjects they are legion, John,
 * I find where'er I go:
 * They wear your yoke upon their necks,
 * John Barley-Corn, my foe.


 * John Barley-Corn, my foe, John,
 * By your despotic sway
 * The people of our country, John,
 * Are suffering to-day.
 * You lay the lash upon their backs;
 * Yet willingly they go
 * And pay allegiance at the polls,
 * John Barley-Corn, my foe.


 * John Barley-Corn, my foe, John,
 * You've broken many a heart,
 * And caused the bitter tear, John,
 * From many an eye to start,


 * The widow and the fatherless
 * From pleasant homes to go,
 * And lead a life of sin and shame,
 * John Barley-Corn, my foe.


 * John Barley-Corn, my foe, John,
 * May Heaven speed the hour,
 * When Temperance shall wear the crown
 * And Rum shall lose its power;
 * When from the East unto the West
 * The people all shall know
 * Their greatest curse has been removed,
 * John Barley-Corn, my foe!