This blog is where I share the spoils from each Imaginary Song Hunt. Feel free to use the ‘comments’ box to share feedback or fun facts! If you enjoyed the session, please drop some pennies into the tip jar…
4th September 2024:
A beer-themed session to celebrate the autumn harvest, taking a brief foray into Sumerian and medieval drinking and harvest songs, before deep diving into the much-love traditional song, John Barleycorn. What’s with the human sacrifice? When did we start personifying booze? Where and when did the character of John Barleycorn come from? Lots of juicy questions – very few reliable answers! 😂 (As usual!)
Session videos
Part 1
Part 2
Links to a few cool things mentioned…
- Anthrochef’s blog on Sumerian Beer
- Loanable digitization of Kathleen Herbert’s Looking for the Lost Gods of England, at Internet Archive
- The Bannatyne Manuscript
- Blog on the old Scots versions
- Essay on corn dollies and other harvest rituals, by Robin Wright
- Nice Barleycorn blog, with video
Good John Barleycorn arrangements/recordings
(There are millions, so this is a bit of an arbitrary selection… but I love them!)