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