Lyr Req: All Among the Barley

Subject: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Jon Bartlett
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 01:35 AM

Source Req: All Among the Barley

Can anyone provide a provenance for the following piece, heard in Birmingham UK, possibly from MacColl's 'Radio Ballads' collaborator Charles Parker, c. 1969?

All among the barley/ Who would not be blithe/ When the ripe and bearded barley/ Is smiling on the side?

Subject: Lyr Add: RIPE AND BEARDED BARLEY
From: Amergin
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 02:05 AM

RIPE AND BEARDED BARLEY
Unknown

Come, ye rout, it's now September,
The Hunter's Moon's begun.
And through the wheat and stubble,
We hear the frequent gun.
The leaves are fading yellow,
And burning into red,
While the ripe and bearded barley
Is hangin' down it's head

All amongst the barley,
Who would not be blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.
All amongst the barley,
Who would not blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.

Wheat is like a rich man,
He's sleek and well-to-do.
The Oats are like a pack of girls,
A thin and dancing crew.
Rye is like a miser,
He's sulky, mean and small,
But the ripe and bearded barley
Is Monarch of them all.

All amongst the barley,
Who would not be blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.
All amongst the barley,
Who would not blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.

Spring is like a young maid,
who does not know her mind.
The Summer, he's a tyrant
Of the most ungracious kind.
Autumn, he's an old friend,
who pleaseth all he can,
He brings the bearded barley
To glad the heart of men.

All amongst the barley,
Who would not be blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.
All amongst the barley,
Who would not blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.

The babe it knows no grief nor care.
Safe in its mothers breast.
The grown man, he must strive and strain,
It's seldom he can rest.
The grey beard sits and takes his ease,
Where care no more holds sway.
With pipe, and dog, and clear brown ale,
He dreams the time away.

All amongst the barley,
Who would not be blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe.
All amongst the barley,
Who would not blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is
Smilin' on the scythe

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: nutty
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 04:10 AM

There's a broadside with the words here in the Bodleian Library, printed between 1840 and 1880

ALL AMONG THE BARLEY

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 05:22 AM

You'll also find a version HERE in the DT.

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:52 AM

The version commonly heard in the UK is, according to the notes on Johnny Collins' Free And Easy, words from Alfred Williams' Folk Songs Of The Upper Thames and tune put to it by Mike Gabriel.

Mick

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 09:40 AM

See also this earlier discussion:  Tune Req: All among the barley

Where did you get your text, Amergin?  It's longer than the sets I've seen, though Come ye rout is probably a mis-hearing of Come out from somewhere along the line.

A rare traditional set of the song was in the repertoire of the late Walter Pardon of Knapton in Norfolk, and appeared on his posthumous compilation  Put a bit of Powder on it, Father... the other songs of Walter Pardon  (Musical Traditions MT CD 305-6 )

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: nutty
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 12:37 PM

I know of two more verses that have been added but have never heard "the babe" one. Like Malcolm I would be interested in its origins.

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Jon Bartlett
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:14 PM

My question is answered - thanks to all who took the trouble to help me! Jon

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Amergin
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:19 PM

boy...I don't know...I just got it from doing a google search....the supersearch was not working at the time...i don't think...

Subject: RE: Words req: All Among the Barley
From: Amergin
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:22 PM

Found the site....click here

you'll have to forgive me for anything that may be wrong here....I never heard this song....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,Rodny
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 07:38 PM

Belles of Bedlam do it nice:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/bellesbedlam

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: mg
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 11:09 PM

-I think it is also on Chris Roe's CD..very nice..mg

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Schantieman
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 05:16 AM

I've been singing this song (every September for) a for years now I learned from a Johnny Collins recording..

In V. 1 it must be 'wheaten stubble', not 'wheat and stubble' as by September any farmer worth his subsidy will hare harvested his wheat!

Steve

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: nutty
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 05:28 AM

The Sheet music is in the Library of Congress Collection dated 1871 and giving credit to Elizabeth Stirling.

The tune is, in places, remarkably similar to the Mike Gabriel one, except that the first two lines of each verse are repeated and the chorus ends ...
"WHEN THE FREE AND HAPPY BARLEY IS SMILING ON THE SCYTHE"

I have "The Fellowship Songbook" printed in 1915 which contains the same version.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Mr Happy
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 05:47 AM

I also do this song in the autumn, September onwards.

I've slightly modified the first line for now we're not in September any more, to ' Come out 'tis gone September, the hunters moon begun'

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Mr Happy
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 05:51 AM

I've a tape of a nice version from Len and Barbara Berry - 'Down the Greengroves' [Portway Pedlars]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: nutty
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 08:37 AM

Has anyone got a version where the song is sung to the 1871 tune??

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Tradsinger
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 02:50 PM

I am not sure what the 1871 tune is but I recorded it on my solo CD, having learnt it from a singing family in Hampshire about 30 years ago. I also collected a Devon version, to a similar tune.

Tradsinger

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,Bob the Shantyman
Date: 14 Oct 11 - 07:42 AM

Thanks Amergin for the third verse - a new one on me - although it took a bit of 'fitting and fiddling' to get the tone and the mood right for me to sing. A song with a fascinating history and some interesting notes for the cd liner!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Oct 11 - 01:46 PM

sheet music here:

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=sm1870&fileName=sm/sm1871/00600/00667/mussm00667.db&recNum=1&itemLink=S?ammem/mussm:@FILREQ(@OR(@field(AUTHOR+@od1(Stirling,+Elizabeth+))+@field(OTHER+@od1(Stirling,+Elizabeth+)))+@FIELD(COLLID+sm1870))&linkText=0

hope that works!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Oct 11 - 09:44 AM

This will also get you there:

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/sm1871.00667

On that page, click "View this item."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 21 Oct 11 - 09:50 AM

For this and other versions, see my origins thread: Origins: All Among the Barley (Elizabeth Stirling)

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Sep 16 - 11:41 PM

I've been singing "All Amongst The Barley" every September since 1976. Can someone please give its origin ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 05 Sep 16 - 04:01 AM

Hi GUEST

Check out the links in the earlier posts on this thread - they'll bring you to some interesting information on the origins of the song.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,Julia L
Date: 05 Sep 16 - 09:44 AM

I love how, on the broadside in the LOC, the words are by A.T- good ole Anonymous Trad?
chuckle
J

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 05 Sep 16 - 12:16 PM

Walter Pardon told us how he learned this when he was at school in the 1910s
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jan 20 - 03:24 PM

I see this answer comes decades too late, but since “nutty“ is interested, I wrote the “the babe, it knows no grief nor care“ verse for “the ripe and bearded barley“ many years ago when I was recording the song with a friend, Christa Burch. We were making an eponymous demo CD (“lintie”) to send out to radio stations to market our duo. It gives me a big kick to see that verse now included with the traditional lyrics on various websites!

Kim Hughes

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,patriot
Date: 22 Jan 20 - 08:52 AM

I only looked at this thread because I've just read a wonderful recent book by Melissa Harrison- highly recommended despite Sam Lee being an adviser

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Sarah the flute
Date: 25 Jan 20 - 06:56 AM

It's on our Morrigan album Dark Days or Fine

Dark Days or Fine Sample

And another connection is I am good friends with Melissa's sister in the library world!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: GUEST,Bob the Shantyman
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 07:16 PM

Line 2 of verse 1 seems odd. If there is stubble in the field then the wheat has been cut. Rather than:
"Through the wheat and stubble we hear the frequent gun . . ."
I sing;
"Through the wheaten stubble we hear the frequent gun . . ."
It just makes more sense of the verse.
I first heard the song sung at The Meadow Folk Club in Ironbridge in 1971 - just over fifty years ago, and it has never gone stale. Mind you, given the first line, it only comes out for four weeks of the year.
I thought that it was traditional but sadly it is not.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 08:18 PM

If you look at the origins thread I linked above (21 Oct 11 - 09:50 AM ), you'll see that the old printed versions give wheaten.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: All Among the Barley
From: leeneia
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 12:39 PM

I glanced at the version posted by Amergin in 2002, and I thought, "Boy, that's a long song!" But actually it isn't. The lyrics print the chorus every time, and the chorus has the same line twice.

I suspect somebody merged two broadsides in it. One broadside talked about barley and the seasons, The other broadside sang of barley and a man's life. If I were singing this to listeners, I would pick one theme or the other.   

Little stuff: I think "rout" is correct. A rout is a mob of fleeing soldiers, but I think here is it a playful term meaning "you fellows."
I like the sound of "come out, ye rout"

I agree that that the stubble should be wheaten. I looked up wheat growing, and whether it is planted in the spring or in the fall, wheat is harvested before September.

The barley should be hanging down its head, not it's head.
The baby should be on the breast, not in the breast.

I don't like "smiling on the scythe," but I'm not sure what to do about it.