| Traffic – John Barleycorn Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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@[Flamencoprof:37873], I just finished a biography of Chris Wood, who was one of the original Traffic members. They used to live in a house in the country, and some say it was haunted. The group, especially Chris Wood, were into folk tales in a big way. This song is thought to be passed down from very early times. Here is more information about "the three" that I found on another website (https://austinhackney.co.uk/2016/04/14/who-was-john-barleycorn-the-shocking-truth-of-an-ancient-mystery-uncovered/ The number three has been clearly demonstrated to have religious or magical significance in most human cultures across the globe. The song originates in a Celtic land and the number three expressed in the symbol of the Celtic Triad is central to ancient Celtic belief and mythology. The art and writing of the Celtic peoples is full of references to the sacred number three. The image of the Triad was adopted in later centuries by the Christian Church as a symbol of its Holy Trinity, but was originally ascribed to worship of the Earth Goddess, who was represented in three aspects as a young maiden, a life-bearing mother, and a wise old crone. It’s also worth noting that in the earliest Celtic writings and myths, the male heroes frequently set out in groups of three to undertake their sacred quests in the name of their Goddess. Equally, in Celtic myth, ‘The West’ was a euphemism for the ‘otherworld’ or ‘faerieland’ – the mystic isle across the western sea where wonders and magic were commonplace, where pleasure and immortality could be found in the dwelling place of the gods. Thus it seems reasonable that these words of the song are a remnant, a memory, of an earlier myth surrounding the figure of John Barleycorn. Three magical heroes, in service to their Goddess, coming from the mystic ‘otherworld’ to bring about his death. Why they would come to kill him will become clear as we delve deeper into these myths. It’s the key to the true identity of the original John Barleycorn. |
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