John Barleycorn Must Die Acoustic chords by Steve Winwood

Capo 7th fret


INTRO:
Asus2 (arpeggiated down and up)
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|


VERSE 1:
D                Am       C   G      Am
There were three men came out of the west,
D     C        G      Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2
Their fortunes for to try.
D               Am  C      G      Am-Asus2-Am
And these three men made a solemn oath,
D          C    G    Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2
John Barleycorn must die.

CHORUS 1:
C                 G                     Am
They've ploughed, they've sewn, they've harrowed him in,
      C       D      Esus4-E
Threw clods upon his head.
Dm              Am  C      G      Am-Asus2-Am
And these three men made a solemn oath,
D          C    G   Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2
John Barleycorn was dead.


INSTRUMENTAL 1:
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|


VERSE 2:
D                Am       C    G    Am
They've let him lie for a very long time,
D              C        G      Am-Asus2-Am
Till the rains from heaven did fall.
D              Am   C      G      Am-Asus2-Am
And little Sir John sprung up his head,
D      C      G    Am-Asus2-Am
and so amazed them all.


CHORUS 2:
C               G             Am
They've let him stand till Midsummer's Day,
     C              D        Esus4-E
Till he looked both pale and wan.
Dm              Am  C      G      Am-Asus2-Am
And these three men made a solemn oath,
D       C    G     Am-Asus2-Am
On poor John Barleycorn.


INSTRUMENTAL 2:
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|


VERSE 3:
D                 Am       C       G  Am
They've hired men with the scythes so sharp,
D          C      G   Am-Asus2-Am
To cut him off at the knee.
D                      Am       C  G   Am-Asus2-Am
They've rolled him and tied him by the waist,
D                C  G     Am-Asus2-Am
Serving him most barbarously.


CHORUS 3:
C                 G        Am
They've hired men with the sharp pitchforks,
    C           D      Esus4-E
Who pricked him to the heart.
Dm             Am     C      G         Am-Asus2-Am
And the loader he has served him worse than that,
D        C         G      Am-Asus2-Am
For he's bound him to the cart.


INSTRUMENTAL 3:
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|


VERSE 4:
D                   Am         C      G   Am
They've wheeled him around and around the field,
D         C    G      Am-Asus2-Am
Till they came unto a barn.
D              Am     C  G   Am-Asus2-Am
And there they made a solemn oath,
D            C  G  Am-Asus2-Am
On poor John Barleycorn.


CHORUS 4:
C                 G        Am
They've hired men with the crab-tree sticks,
    C           D    Esus4-E
To cut him skin from bone.
Dm                    Am         C     G    Am-Asus2-Am
And the miller he has served him worse than that,
D                   C       G   Am-Asus2-Am
For he's ground him between two stones.


INSTRUMENTAL 4:
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|(Mmm-oooh)
|D C G Am-Asus2 Am-Asus2|(Who-oooh)


VERSE 5:
D                   Am      C   G     Am
And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl,
    C           D    Esus4-E
And he's brandy in the glass.
D                   Am      C   G     Am-Asus2-Am
And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl,
D                C   G      Am-Asus2-Am
Proved the strongest man at last.


CHORUS 5 & CODA:
C                      G        Am
The huntsman, he can't hunt the fox,
    C            D        Esus4-E
Nor so loudly to blow his horn.
Dm             Am       C    G          Am-Asus2-Am
And the tinker he can't mend kettle nor pots,
D         C      G     Am  (Slowed tempo, arpeggio and fade, on last line)
Without a little Barleycorn.


[End]


Notes.
1. This version has particular quirks that are unique, as it is a solo acoustic performance.
2. Traffic?s original album ?John Barleycorn Must Die? featuring ?John Barleycorn (Must Die)?
was released forty-five years ago in July, 1970.