In the days before fertilisers and pesticides, farmers were even more at the mercy of the elements than they are now. Ceremonial magic provided the reassurance that all would be well……perhaps. A good, healthy stand of corn in a field is a fine sight but when the reaping time comes around, alarm bells ring. What if the Spirit of the Corn departs never to return? How will next year’s crop grow then?
As the corn was cut, it was believed that the Corn Spirit retreated before the reapers until, finally, he took refuge in the last remaining sheaf. The last sheaf was often then gathered with some reverence and from it was made a plaited human effigy known as a corn dolly. The word ‘dolly’, in this instance, is believed to be a derivation of the word ‘idol’. It is easy to imagine how, in common usage, corn idol became corn ‘dol which became corn dolly. The creation of the corn dolly gave the Corn Spirit somewhere to survive over the winter after all, since this small remnant of the harvest would not be threshed and ground in the mill like the rest of the corn. The effigy was kept in the barn for the winter and when the next planting took place, the corn dolly would be placed out in the field so that the Corn Spirit could breath life into the next crop.
The earliest known printing of a John Barleycorn song was in the early seventeenth century so this is a very old song, having its roots in rural paganism. Numerous versions have come down to us from both English and Scottish sources, so the song was clearly widespread as well as ancient. As for me, I just wanted a song about beer to celebrate the principal product of my home town of Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire. The fact that this song has a belting chorus was a major bonus.
As the corn was cut, it was believed that the Corn Spirit retreated before the reapers until, finally, he took refuge in the last remaining sheaf. The last sheaf was often then gathered with some reverence and from it was made a plaited human effigy known as a corn dolly. The word ‘dolly’, in this instance, is believed to be a derivation of the word ‘idol’. It is easy to imagine how, in common usage, corn idol became corn ‘dol which became corn dolly. The creation of the corn dolly gave the Corn Spirit somewhere to survive over the winter after all, since this small remnant of the harvest would not be threshed and ground in the mill like the rest of the corn. The effigy was kept in the barn for the winter and when the next planting took place, the corn dolly would be placed out in the field so that the Corn Spirit could breath life into the next crop.
The earliest known printing of a John Barleycorn song was in the early seventeenth century so this is a very old song, having its roots in rural paganism. Numerous versions have come down to us from both English and Scottish sources, so the song was clearly widespread as well as ancient. As for me, I just wanted a song about beer to celebrate the principal product of my home town of Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire. The fact that this song has a belting chorus was a major bonus.