Scarborough Fair

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Scarborough Fair is a traditional English folk song , the author of which is unknown. Probably the best-known version today is the adaptation by Simon & Garfunkel , which first appeared in 1966 on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . The song is often sung in a duet with a woman's and a man's voice.

origin

The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages , when the northern English coastal town of Scarborough was an important meeting place for merchants from all over England. A 45-day large trade fair , called the Scarborough Fair , began there on August 15 each year and was very long for the time.

When this fair was abandoned in the 19th century, the name Scarborough Fair was given to a music festival that is now held in the same town every September.

The song was probably written in the 16th or 17th century. It is possible that it originated from the Scottish folk ballad The Elfin Knight . After it was passed down from town to town, it was changed several times. It so happens that dozens of stanzas exist today. However, mostly only a few of them are sung.

text

The song is about a former pair of lovers who now set unsolvable tasks for each other in order to become a couple again. The last stanza indicates that the task is not to be fulfilled; what counts is the attempt to face them.

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.

Are you going to Scarborough Market?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, give my
regards to someone who lives there,
because she was once my love.

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 favor from me,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.

Ask her to make me a batiste shirt,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
without any seam or seam,
and then she will be my love.

Ask her to wash it in the dry well,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Who has never had water and in which it has never rained,
And then she will be my love.

Ask her to dry it on the thorns,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
That has never bloomed since Adam was born,
And then she will be my love.

Ask her to do me this favor,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
and ask her if I can do something similar for her,
and then she will be my love.

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.

Did you go to Scarborough Market?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
greet me from someone who lives there,
because he was once my love.

Woman:

Ask him to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
For then he'll be a true love of mine.

Ask him to plow 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.

Ask him to find an acre of land for me,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the salt water and the beach of the sea,
For then he will be my love.

Ask him to plow it with a sheep's horn,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
and sow a peppercorn over the whole area,
because then he will be my love.

Ask him to harvest it with a leather sickle,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And bundle the harvest with a string of heather,
For then he will be my love.

When he's finished with all the work,
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
then he should come and get his cambric shirt,
because then he will be my love.

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.

If you say you can't, I answer:
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
tell me that at least you will try,
or you will never be my darling.

The refrain "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme"

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
Even with the linked terms, there is almost nothing to be found in relation to the claims listed here. - Hinnerk11 ( discussion ) 02:31, 3rd Jun. 2019 (CEST)
Petroselinum crispum - Koehler – s Medicinal Plants-103.jpg Salvia officinalis - Koehler – s Medizinal-Pflanzen-126.jpg
Rosmarinus officinalis - Koehler – s Medicinal-Pflanzen-258.jpg Thymus vulgaris - Koehler – s Medicinal-Pflanzen-271.jpg

Parsley ( parsley ), sage ( sage ),
rosemary ( rosemary ) and thyme ( thyme ).

The refrain "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" initially makes no sense for a listener of today, but has a symbolic meaning:

  • Parsley used to be eaten as a digestive and was designed to remove the bitterness in food at the same time. Medieval doctors also used this plant for a spiritual purpose.
  • Sage has long been considered a symbol of strength.
  • Rosemary represents loyalty, love and memory. Today in England there is still the custom of many women to wear sprigs of rosemary in their hair.
  • Thyme primarily symbolizes courage. At the time the song was written, knights often wore shields with a thyme plant painted on them when going into battle.

The lyrical I in the song wished with the entries to alleviate the bitterness in the relationship of these four plants clemency, fortitude, for the period in which the former couple is separated, fidelity to stay together, even if both are just alone; and also encouragement so that both can do the "impossible things" and get back together as soon as possible.

melody

Soprano solo of some stanzas.

The song is in the church key (mode) Doric , which is quite typical for the English songs of the late Renaissance (see Greensleeves ), but had an archaic character for the ears of the 20th century, which was beneficial for rediscovery and reuse.

Versions

A first recording of the song created the melody in the film by the use of Man Hunt of Fritz Lang (1941). In 1955, Gordon Heath and Lee Payant published a recording on their album Encores From The Abbaye , which was based on a printed sheet music edition by the English song collector and music scholar Frank Kidson (1891).

The melody version known today was coined by Simon & Garfunkel ; their recording Scarborough Fair / Canticle was released in 1966 on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . Paul Simon learned the song from Martin Carthy in London in 1965 and added the counterpoint from Canticle , a re-recording of The Side of a Hill . In 1968 the song was released as a single as a soundtrack for the film The Graduation and reached number 11 on the US charts. The copyright belongs exclusively to Paul Simon, which was a thorn in the side of Martin Carthy as he was actually the "traditional source". A reconciliation between the two only came about in 2000 when Paul Simon sang the song with Carthy at a concert in London.

There are numerous other versions of the song, most of which are limited to a selection of the stanzas mentioned above; well-known artists are:

Further reception

The title of the British crime television series Rosemary & Thyme (2003-2007) is based on this song and uses an adaptation composed by Christopher Gunning as the theme music.

Web links

Wikibooks: Songbook / Scarborough Fair  - Learning and teaching materials

Single receipts

  1. ↑ “Scarborough Fair” - Traditional / Simon and Garfunkel , History of an American folk song Kim Ruehl, About.com Guide, accessed July 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Film and TV Scores , on: Christopher Gunning website, accessed April 13, 2016