"John Barleycorn Must Die is a telling of the basic near easter-european fertility god myth,

Compare this to the myth of Persephone, the myth of ADonis, and the Jesus myth,

Three men come from the West/East. They kill him. He arises again.

John Barleycorn represents the spirit of the harvested grain. The song is both a metaphor, and a poetic explanation of the killing of grain."



So...a Year King thing then?
Like the Greek Grain Cults?
I'd buy that....especially given the images usually associated with the "John barleycorn" figure.