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"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional English Ballad . This song dates back to late Medieval times, when the seaside resort of Scarborough was an important venue for tradesmen from all over England . It was host to a huge forty-five day trading event, starting August 15 , which was exceptionally long for a fair in those times. People from all over England, and even some from The Continent , came to Scarborough to engage in business. The traditional 'Scarborough Fair' no longer exists but a number of low key celebrations take place every September to mark the original event. The song is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th Century , and may have been adapted from an older ballad entitled " The Elfin Knight " ( Child Ballad No. 2). As Bard s carried the song from one town to the next it was adapted, modified, and rewritten to the point that dozens of verses exist for the song, although only a few are typically sung. The song tells the tale of a young man, jilted by his lover, who jokingly tells the listener to ask her to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as knitting him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she completes these tasks he will take her back. Often the song is sung as a duet, with the woman then giving her lover a series of equally impossible tasks, promising to give him his seamless shirt once he has finished. LYRICS Following is one version of the song, arranged as a duet: BOTH Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley , Sage , Rosemary and Thyme , Remember me to one who lives there, For she once was a true love of mine. MAN Tell her to make me a Cambric shirt, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Without no seam nor fine needlework, And then she'll be a true love of mine. Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Which never sprung water nor rain ever fell, And then she'll be a true love of mine. Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Which never bore blossom since Adam was born, And then she'll be a true love of mine. Ask her to do me this courtesy, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, And ask for a like favour from me, And then she'll be a true love of mine. BOTH Have you been to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Remember me from one who lives there, For he once was a true love of mine. WOMAN Ask him to find me an acre of land, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Between the salt water and the sea-sand, For then he'll be a true love of mine. Ask him to plough it with a sheep's horn, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, And sow it all over with one peppercorn, For then he'll be a true love of mine. Ask him to reap it with a Sickle of leather, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, And gather it up with a rope made of Heather , For then he'll be a true love of mine. When he has done and finished his work, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Ask him to come for his cambric shirt, For then he'll be a true love of mine. BOTH If you say that you can't, then I shall reply, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, Oh, Let me know that at least you will try, Or you'll never be a true love of mine. Love imposes impossible tasks, Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, But none more than any heart would ask, I must know you're a true love of mine. EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLISM The refrain of "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme", though obscure to modern listeners, is full of Symbolism . Parsley, used to this day as a digestive aid, was said to take away the bitterness, and medieval doctors took this in a spiritual sense as well. Sage has been known to symbolize strength for thousands of years. Rosemary represents faithfulness, love and remembrance, and the custom of a bride wearing twigs of rosemary in her hair is still practiced in England and several other European countries today. Thyme symbolizes courage, and at the time this song was written, Knight s would often wear images of thyme on their Shield s when they went to combat. The speaker in the song, by mentioning these four herbs, wishes his true love mildness to soothe the bitterness which is between them, strength to stand firm in the time of their being apart from each other, faithfulness to stay with him during this period of loneliness and paradoxically courage to fulfill her impossible tasks and to come back to him by the time she can. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL VERSION The arrangement made famous by Simon And Garfunkel 's ''Scarborough Fair/Canticle'' originated in the late 19th Century . Paul Simon learned it in 1965 in London from Martin Carthy and set it in Counterpoint with ''Canticle'', a reworking of Simon's 1963 song ''The Side Of a Hill'' with new, Anti-war lyrics. It was the title track of the 1966 Album '' Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme '', and was released as a Single after featuring on The Soundtrack to '' The Graduate '' in 1968. The Copyright credited only Simon and Garfunkel as the authors, causing ill-feeling on the part of Carthy, who felt the "traditional" source should have been Credited . This rift remained until Simon invited Carthy to duet the song with him at a London concert in 2000. (It is of note that several years prior to Simon's learning the song, Bob Dylan borrowed the melody and several lines from Carthy's arrangement to create his "Girl from the North Country," which appeared on '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''.) OTHER ARTISTS Some people know the version of this song done by (who also recorded a French, German and Greek version), Nana Mouskouri , Queensryche , Martin Carthy , Roger Whittaker , Midori , Medwyn Goodall , Johnny Dean , Hayley Westenra and the Mediaeval Baebes EXTERNAL LINKS |
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