Scarborough Fair / Canticle by Simon & Garfunkel

Album: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (1966)

Charted: 11

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

songplace

Songfacts®:

Scarborough is a small town on the coast of England. The "Scarborough Fair" was a popular gathering in Medieval times, attracting traders and entertainers from all over the country. The fair lasted 45 days and started every August 15th. In the 1600s, mineral waters were found in Scarborough and it became a resort town. Today, Scarborough is a quiet town with a rich history. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Sheryl - Seal Rock, OR
In Medieval England, this became a popular folk song as Bards would sing it when they traveled from town to town. The author of the song is unknown, and many different versions exist. The traditional version has many more lyrics.
Paul Simon learned about this song when he was on tour in England, where he heard a version by a popular folk singer named Martin Carthy. When Carthy heard Simon & Garfunkel's rendition, he accused Simon of stealing his arrangement. Carthy and Simon did not speak until 2000, when Simon asked Carthy to perform this with him at a show in London. Carthy put his differences aside and did the show.

Martin Carthy learned the song from a Ewan MacColl songbook, and had recorded it on his first album, according to BBC's Patrick Hamphries.

Paul Simon admitted to the July 2011 edition of Mojo magazine: "The version I was playing was definitely what I could remember of Martin's version, but he didn't teach it to me. Really, it was just naivety on my part that we didn't credit it as his arrangement of a traditional tune. I didn't know you had to do that. Then later on, Martin's publisher contacted me and we made a pretty substantial monetary settlement that he was supposed to split with Martin, But unbeknown to me, Martin got nothing."
The lyrics are about a man trying to attain his true love. In Medieval times, the herbs mentioned in the song represented virtues that were important to the lyrics. Parsley was comfort, sage was strength, rosemary was love, and thyme was courage.
This was not released as a single until 1968, when it was used in the Dustin Hoffman movie The Graduate. It is on the soundtrack.
Before Simon & Garfunkel got to it, Bob Dylan used the lines, "Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine" in his 1963 song "Girl From The North Country."
"Scarborough Fair" and "Canticle" are two songs that are sung simultaneously to create this piece. The first and last verses are "Scarborough Fair," but lines from "Canticle" alternate after the first line of the other verses, so "On the side of a hill in a deep forest green" and "Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested ground" are from "Canticle."
This song is often listed as "Scarborough Fair/Canticle." On The Paul Simon Songbook, a little-known 1965 UK album of Simon-solo demos, there is a song called "The Side Of a Hill," which was reworked into the Canticle part of "Scarborough Fair." >>>
Suggestion credit:
Jesse - Roanoke, VA
With its implicit anti-Vietnam War message, this was used in The Wonder Years TV series in a scene where Kevin Arnold embraces Winnie Cooper while the song was played at the end of the episode. In the show, Winnie's brother had been killed in Vietnam. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Marciliano - Fortaleza, Brazil
Paul Simon sang this on The Muppet Show when he was the special guest in a 1980 episode. His performance is set during Renaissance times and features Miss Piggy on vocals, gamely filling in for Art Garfunkel.

Comments: 61

Marie from Oregon CoastI was 10 when the 1966 version came out. I like all of the information and discussion about this song.
Personality-wise, I am an INFP, and even at the age of 10, this song affected me deeply. In 2014, I visited Scarborough England. There is a castle there that is mostly destroyed by war, the English civil war, along with the world wars. It is on an enormous hill, over-looking the North sea. It is as beautiful as the song (or 2 songs). Even in October, there was lush green grass and a haunted feeling walking through the ruins. It is in North East Yorkshire not too far from Emily Bronte's birthplace, and also where the 1970's version of Wuthering Heights was filmed (It's maybe an hours drive.)
I have read that Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme was used as a love potion by witches in medieval times (but the idea that it was used in embalming is an interesting thought too.)
The lyrics have inspired an interest in herbs for me, and also to visit Northern England. I had a lover of 10 years from West Yorkshire. It was definitely unrequieted love when it ended. He said it was due to the pandemic, and our ages, and not being able to move to one country or the other for financial reasons. He fell out of love with me. I got old. He is 5 years younger, and I have given up on waiting for him to retire.
I feel like I took this song to heart, and wound up experiencing it to some extent.
I like the thought/opinion that the man from the song was a soldier dying on a battlefield, and his last words to his friend were to send a message to his one true love, but also (reading between the lines) an anti-war message. Reality might be that he was using sarcasm with the 4 impossible tasks, to help her let go but that they would see each other again in the after life.
I have been a fan of Paul Simon for over 50 years.
His New York wit in the lyrics of the songs he DID write have made me laugh and cry.
I am grateful to him for bringing this centuries old song to the entire world.
It never occurred to me that the musical instrument in the recorded version was a harpsichord.
North of Scarborough is another seaport town called Whitby. Bram Stoker got the inspiration for Dracula while staying in Whitby. I stayed at a bed and breakfast called Bleak House named after one of Charles Dickens' books. It reminded me of Paul Simon's song Bleaker Street. My trip was about music and literature.
Sharon From South Australia from AdelaideThere are 2 songs combined in the S&G version - only one of which is about war - therefore no need to summon dead soldiers/ dead loves to explain the tale!
I agree with Sarah of Madison that the song is a message about love - that once you’ve loved someone and it’s over, you can’t return to how you used to feel. Once the intensity has passed, it’s impossible to get it back.
- Very, very poignant representation of that idea. I find the acre of land especially sad - the sea always moving seems to bring up the impermanence of the state of being in love
Melane Ross from Cumbria, EnglandThe song Scarborough Fair is centuries old, yet if you search Google for "Who composed Scarborough Fair?" it always returns "Paul Simon", which is pretty poor information supplied by the world's biggest search engine. I've reported it to Google 20 times or more, yet it still insists Paul Simon wrote this song.
Mark from East Sussex, Uka beautiful song. For an amazing cover, you could do a lot worse than check out Mike Masse's version on the you tube
Michael S. Greenberg, Ph.d. from Clearwater, FlI Agree with Steve from Japan. I am WWII buff, know that this is a traditional song. I am also a Licensed Psychologist. The Underlying meaning was the same as yours. However, now that I think of it, I think that the guy telling the story was dead already, on the battlefield.
Steve from Kawasaki, JapanI was just a tyke when it first came out, but I used to teach this song to English language students at Japanese colleges, beginning the class with a sing along with the CD, students doing the main melody, while I sang Canticle.

I most often used it in Comparative Culture classes, but also in any class that gave me a chance to entertain myself as well as the students ... and a hell of a lot easier than deconstructing lyrics to Yes's 'Siberian Khatru' or Joni Mitchell's 'Don't Interrupt the Sorrow'.

Most Japanese students know the melody of the song because of the popularity of the movie it was used in ... 'The Graduate' staring a young Dustin Hoffman.

The Japanese students seemed even more motivated when I told them that for every thousand native speakers of English who knew the song, few would know it as well as they would. Most native speakers are content with the music, and write off the lyrics as a mix of traditional romantic symbolism and anti-war sentiment. I spent years deconstructing this song with students, and eventually came up with an interpretation that Paul Simon himself may not have even previously considered. But I don't know. Judging by lyrics to other songs he has written, he is a pretty bright guy.

Some hints about the main melody lyrics.

1 — Why is one man asking another man, presumably a friend, to deliver a message to his former true love?
Why doesn't he just go to the fair and chat with her himself?

2 — If she is a 'former' true love (once was), why is he asking his friend to make four requests of her?

3 — And if she can do these favors for him, she will once more be his true love?
Quite the businessman.

4 — And what, exactly, were those four requests?
... make a cambric (soft cotton) shirt,
... find an acre of land for him,
... reap the land,
.... and gather what was reaped into one bunch
Quite the handy wench.
If she does all four things for him, then she can be his true love again?
Sounds like a sweet deal to me.

5 — Ahh, but there's a catch. There's always a catch.
... That shirt must be seamless and with no embroidery
... that land must be between the salt water and the sea strand
... the sickle must be made of leather
... an acres worth of reaped 'something or other' must be wrapped up in heather?

6 — Wait a minute. These must be trick questions/requests ... right?
... I mean a 'seamless shirt' four or five hundred years ago?
How, exactly, would she go about making that thing?
... An acre of land isn't so big, unless it is between the salt water and the sea strand.
But the last I checked, 'sea strand' is another phrase for 'beach'. Not much more than sea foam there.
... And even if she managed to find an acre of that never-never land, why couldn't she just reap it with a sickle
of iron or bronze? Leather? Next thing you know, he'll be asking for whips and heels.
... And finally gather an acre's worth of crops into a bunch of heather?
That's an awfully small and delicate little flower. I guess they didn't have Walmart shopping bags or
Amazon boxes back then, but surely something a little more sturdy than heather.

7 — By this time, the students were beginning to suspect he had no intention of becoming her true love again.
Those requests sound unreasonable, impossible.

8 — But I reminded them of how sweet and romantic the music was, passed around four bottles of the herbs I
had picked up at the local grocery store, and talked a bit about some traditional meanings of the herbs.

9 —By now the students were getting mixed messages ... romantic music, sung by a character who is trying to
woo his lady back to him by asking her to do four impossible requests?

10 — So I then reminded them that there were two songs dove-tailed here, and maybe the other, somewhat less
mysterious, less metaphorical 'Canticle' can inform us of the mystery behind 'Scarborough Fair'.

11 — As most native speakers and students soon knew, Canticle is an anti-war song, and this was released
about the same time as the escalation of the Vietnam conflict, 1966. Canticle also refers to the sleeping
'child of the mountain', which we can presume is the female true love.

12 — Once more, I asked the question to the students .... how can we reconcile such a romantic song with
such 'needy and nonsensical' requests?
Can they once more become true lovers?
Or not?

To hell with the hints, on with the show ...

13 — Most students would give up at this point, and say that this was a kind way of a man saying 'sayonara' to
a former love.

14 — But being the idealistic dreamer that I am, I pushed them further. I told the students that IF she could find
a way to perform those four impossible tasks, true love is safe and sound, and I challenged them to work in
groups, discuss the song from all angles, hash it out ... and see if there is SOME way she can do what he
asks.

15 — While students are in small groups trying to figure this riddle out, I might throw out a few other hints and
grim 'easter eggs'.

16 — After a few minutes of urging the students to 'use your imagination' if you want to believe that love finds a
way ... usually one of the students will have a flash of inspiration, and come up with a way to tie it all
together.

17 — The 'child of the mountain', if she wants to be reunited with her true love, has to user her imagination.
That is the only place where she can make such a shirt, find that particular piece of land, reap it with a sickle
of leather, and gather it all in a bunch of heather. If she wants to find true love, she must take the red pill —
and find him again in her dreams.

18 — Why? Because to return to the first question, the singer is asking his friend to deliver his message to her
.... because he, himself, is unable to go. They will never meet again because he is a soldier, on the
battlefield, AFTER the battle, and taking his dying breaths.

19 — When the whole class suddenly realizes that this is the only way to tie everything together, you could of
heard a pin drop.

20 — This is the conspiracy theory we came up with, and I am sticking with it.

When we ended the class with another singalong with the CD, there was a noticeable difference in how the words came out.

I was reasonably sure this was one English lesson the students would remember for a long time.
I sure did.
Jeff D from Hastings, Mn, UsaThe song is definitely NOT about a man pining for an ex-love... I think the opposite is true. He asks the messenger to give her a list of tasks for her to complete before he will take her back (before she will be "a true love of mine"). The give-away is that the tasks he gives are impossible: Make me a shirt with no seams or needlework, reap an acre of land with a sickle of leather, etc. He is basically saying, "I'll take her back when Hell freezes over."
George from Vancouver, CanadaEven the official Paul Simon website doesn't separate Canticle from Scarborough Fair; makes sense -- it was recorded as one song with a title & subtitle. Essentially canticle refers to a musical chant, so the title isn't two songs -- it's one song, with canticle-like content.
Jennifur Sun from RamonaDanny maybe you can find what you are looking for via the library system. quite often they have song books you can check out. also maybe someone who has played guitar and knows the song well knows the words. I have the same problem you have with one of my fav Judds songs, Rocking With The Rhythm Of The Rain.
Thomas from ArkansasBetween the original content text and all u commenters, I just learned a helluva lot about this song. Thanks to both. Has anybody mentioned that this can be sung as a round? My wife and I were doing it once (as a round) when we pulled in to get gas. The station attendant who came to our window (yes, they has such people in those days even outside of NJ) had to wait until we got to a good stopping place. Nice memory.
Mark from United StatesDanny - Bronx, Ny, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BakWVXHSug has the full lyrics, and is quite understandable. Thought this might be of help.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 24th 1968, "Scarborough/Canticle" by Simon and Garfunkel entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #61; and on April 14th it peaked at #11 (for 1 week) and also spent 11 weeks on the Top 100...
It spent four weeks at #13 before jumping to #11...
Though it just missed making the Top 10; the duo's next four releases did (starting with "Mrs. Robinson" (#1 for 3 weeks), "The Boxer" (#7), "Bridge Over Troubled Water (#1 for 6 weeks), and finally "Cecilia" (#4)...
Mr. Simon & Mr. Garfunkel will celebrate their 73rd birthdays in the fall, Mr. Simon on October 13th and Mr. Garfunkel one month later on November 5th.
Dawn from Orangevale, Ca, CaI have read the posts and know alot about his song as it has always been one of my favorites. This is a song about one who misses his lover and wants to be with her, however there are differences. Traditionally this was sung probably as a duet. The man inquires if his friend is going to the fair and if he sees his former lover, "remember me to her". He wants her to make him a shirt without seams or needle work, an impossible task. She wants an acre of land between the water and the sand, again an impossible task. She asks him to plant and reap it in a way that is once again impossible. Reference to the herbs is reference to the strength they were thought to posess at the time. The critical missing verse from the S and G version goes something like Love imposes impossible tasks (parsely sage rosemary and thyme) But not no more than any heart asks...And I know she's a true love of mine.
Danny from Bronx, NyAre the lyrics to the "Canticle" portion available anywhere? Some of the lines are from "The Side of a Hill", but some are not, like "in the deep forest green". Some of the words are hard to hear, since they are sung simultaneously with the main lyrics of "Scarborough Fair". As far as I know, they have never been published, and I am wondering why.
Dryattz from Atlanta, GaJesse: Indeed, it IS harpsichord! Played by John Meszar, and exquisitely well, I believe. The interplay with the guitar is just gorgeous. . .
L from Yardley, PaSiriusXM is currently dedicating an S&G channel, and one of the bits of trivia they're reporting is that Artie wrote Canticle. I've also always thought it was from "The Side of a Hill".
Jesse from Madison, WiI wasn't in the studio when they recorded this fine hit, but I'm really thinking that the boys (or the producer, or SOMEONE) was playing a harpsichord to REALLY give it that haunting tone about it. That would be at the point when it builds to its mid-point crescendo. I speed-read all the comments and nobody seems to point out that fact. Mandolin? Maybe. But I'm much more thinking harpsichord. That is such a fine instrument! And the way it's played in this song just fascinates me to no end! The fast fingerwork has always been difficult for me, being a drummer. It should be easy, but maybe I'm double-jointed in a bad way or something. My wrists are conditioned to all get-out, but my fingers can't work independently. Any knowledge on that? I'm thinkin' harpsichord...
Eiko from Yokosuka, JapanAfter reading your comments here, it just ocurred to me what if the singer himself is a dead soldier
singing from 'elsewhere' to us in this world.
This beautiful yet so sorrowful voice of Art and all those impossible tasks then all come together
to make sense to me. S & G may have taken this
interpretation.

eiko, Yokosuka, Japan
Chuck from Oceanside, NyThe only real relation this song has to the Vietnam War is when it was released (1966-7). The anti-war sentiment in the Canticle overlap uses imagery from a British military campaign, possibly of the American Revolutionary War (speculative). "Tracing a sparrow on snow crested ground" refers to foraging for food during mid-winter. The clarion call and the "blazing in scarlet battalions" clearly point to British military tradition of that time. As for the Scarborough Fair portion of the song it points to an era earlier still which points out a series of impossible tasks to his/her intended subject in exchange for love. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme were used in embalming, purification, and to ward off evil spirits for sometime before that. The song has roots deeper still in the Scottish ballad of the Elfin Knight which may date back as far as the 1200's.
I think that the song/s, taken in context with the time it was released give us a look at the timelessness of loss and war extending into our own era. Genius and relevance sadly absent in most of the music today.
Jessy from Beirut, LebanonI personally feel that the narrator blames his lover for just leaving him unexpectedly. But the more I read up about this song's history and origins, the more I'm convinced she died at war, although the narrator keeps that a total mystery, intentionally choosing not to mention anything at all about the war to begin with. As a result, he feels blue without her, and misses her greatly, telling her that he'd forgive her and take her back, and everything would be okay again, if she could just do these impossible tasks. He even makes it sound as though he has blind faith in her, and that although the tasks seem difficult, he has confidence that her love for him is so strong and deep that she would keep diligently persevering and trying again and again and again for the sake of carrying out the tasks to prove she is worthy of his love. And the beauty about that fact is that the herbs that are constantly reiterated throughout the lyrics "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" represent noble virtues such as courage, wisdom, purity, faithfulness and love: Virtues which he desperately reminds his lover of, primarily for the sake of reassuring her that he is certain she will complete the tasks and be his beloved again. However, these herbs have also been known to be used for burial rituals and ceremonies...so the narrator keeps that double meaning consistent throughout the entire song, on the one hand talking to his loved one, on the other mentioning the herbs associated with death until at the very end, he finally realizes, no matter how faithful his lover was, regretfully, she is now long gone. I guess I saw that in the last stanza, he finally gave up. He asks her one last time if she was going to Scarborough Fair, a place where they possibly first met (it was a famous fair that often lasted 45 days) and it's almost as if he finally becomes physically aware of her passing, so he speaks "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" for the last time, asking his beloved to come out of her grave, take him with her, and bury him with the herbs that formerly stood for all the virtues their love had once embodied.
Mike from Franklin County, PaThe song "Scarborough Fair" was just as popular during the Medieval Period of England in the 16th and 17th Century (1500s and 1600s)as the other two popular songs "Greensleeves" and "Early One Morning" . Back then the four spices , "Parsley , Sage , Rosemary , Thyme" were widely known herbs commonly used in everyday cooking as a seasoning for meat and fish and poultry . This song was sang at the known fair in Scarborough , England possibly around the spring or summer season . A merchant of the village would sing this song not only to the crowd of tourists , but also to the fair maidens ( the young women in the village they had hearts set on ). The singer would charm her by playing this beautiful melody on the mandolin (as the guitar - like instrument was used during that time )and singing the words to her , in order to show his love and effection .
Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, CaS&G make this song sound very wonderful!
TY, guys!
John from Kampala, UgandaI first heard the song(s)in 1968 in Kampala-two years before entry into University in Dustin Hoffman's film 'The Graduate.' It haunted me for a long time. Listening to it again in 1977 when I was in Nairobi as a refugee cathartic.
Sean from Brockton, MaI believe the comment about Bob Dylan's lyrics is backwards - HE got the lyrics from the one of the "original" versions of the Scarborough fair song, not he other way around. He used lyrics from poems/literature for many of his songs (Jack Kerouac, etc..)
Fred from Laurel, MdThis song needs to be re-listed as Scarborough Fair/Canticle, because that's the way it appears on the original recording, and it is truly two songs sung with partially overlapping lines. *** Andy/Corning,NY -- actually, you've got 'em backwards--S.Fair is the love (or lost-love) song, while Canticle is anti-war. As for which war, the mood/style seems to me more evocative of the US Civil War. But since it came out when it did, it was taken as anti-VN War, and was no doubt intended that way.
Chris from Sault Ste Marie, MiI always felt this song was referring to a dead (soldier) who wishes his lover to prepare him for burial.
Christina from New York, NyDon't know if anyone said this, but I know some spoke of the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme representing traits that one would want in a lover/spouse. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme was also a popular love potion in the medeival period.
Sarah from Madison, Withis has to be the most beautiful song i have ever heard. love simon & garfunkel! i think he's talking about someone who he used to love, but his love for her died and he can basically never love her again. i agree with john from kansas. he says that if she does all these impossible tasks then they can be together again, so pretty much its not going to happen. anyways its a beautiful song about love
Daniel from Staten Island, NyThere was only one time they performed Scarborough Fair live with Canticle and that was performed on the Andy Williams show. Simon and Garfunkel and Andy Willams peformed it.
Emilia from Gdańsk, Polandyou can hear a piece of this in lost in translation movie, its the second or third evening in the bar
John from Overland Park, KsI think this was the singer's way of saying, "If she's thinking of us getting back together, it'll happen after she does these tasks... in short, she can forget it."
Kent from Raleigh, NcPart of the "haunting" sound of this song comes from its use of a Dorian scale as opposed to a "regular" Major or Minor.
Joanie from Bowling Green, KyIt seems to me all the tasks he sets for his lover to do are impossible, then she'll be a true love of mine. Such as making a shirt with no seams or needlework, reaping a land with a sickle made of leather!, and an acre of land between the salt water and the sea's strand, etc, all are impossible tasks.
John from Hickory, NcThere seems to me to be two separate streams of thought throughout this song. One from the point of view of a observer of the war and another from the point of view of a dying soldier. Lines such as ?And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten? appear to be general comments on the war itself, where lines like ?Tell her to make me a cambric shirt? would be more from a specific individual. This line in particular seems interesting in that immediately following it after the chorus is the line ?Without no seams nor needle work?, which kind of makes you wonder what exactly he is referring to (ignoring the double negative). Perhaps this could be alluding to a death shroud of some sort. I think the idea that a dying soldier is at least responsible for some of the words is easy enough to see when his love ?Washes the grave with silvery tears?. I am sure some of this is obvious to most, but I would be interested in other points of view.
Tony from Boston, MaReal meaning of Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme:

Parsley, is said to take away bitterness. Medieval doctors took this in a spiritual sense as well. Sage is a symbol 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, knights would often wear images of thyme on their shields 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.

I got this information from the encyclopedia.
Leya Qwest from Anchorage, AkSergio Mendes & Brasil 66 had a super hit in 1969 with their own interpretation of this great song. The small combo's touch of light jazz, bossa nova and rich vocal harmonies in SF continues to make for pleasant listening among New Millinnium worldbeat listeners as it did for those of pre-Age of Aquarius pop music enthusiasts. There is nothing finer than smooth, silk voices and a cool, gracious instrumental in the group's own construction. Instead of lulling you away like Paul and Art do, Sergio gently massages your soul with his cover tune. Suave is cool!
Dennis from Chicagoland Burrows, IlRosemary is the herb of rememberance
Jan from Berlin, GermanyThe herbs mentioned in the chorus were commonly used as a contraceptive; an extract of them would be used for abortions, administered by midwives. The process was quite dangerous, menacing not only the unborn's life, but also the mother's. Therefore it may well be that the line in the song/ballad is a reference to this fact. However, I read (about the ballad) that this very line can only be traced back to the nineteenth century and may actually be a corruption of something like "every heart grows merry in time".
Eric from Teaneck, NjIn 1971, an Israeli group called The Parvarim recorded an album of Hebrew cover versions of Simon and Garfunkel songs. The translations were mostly accurate, but for "Scarborough Fair," the Hebrew words for "parsley, sage, etc." didn't fit into the music, so the spices were changed to "cinnamon, jasmine and myrrh."
Eric from Teaneck, NjThe "Canticle" part of the song, originally written alone as "The Side of a Hill" and later juxtaposed with "Scarborough Fair," is an anti-war ballad.
Tanja from Frankfurt, GermanyCainticle partially is a later version of "On the Side of a Hill" (Songbook)
It was fun when a friend and I tried to write our own voices for the song and it sounded quite nice after a while, but I'm sure there will never be a version even half as great as the one of S&G!
Billy from Plymouth, NhA song of love, a song for love. I loved, we sang, S&G were our favourites. I enjoy faires nowadays, & I always engage a Bard to play this. For Emily, wherever she may be.
This song is an instant misty eyed nostalgia trip down memory lane. Emily, thank you always.
Nikki from Remington, VaAs previoulsy stated, this was based on ballad, the author and date written unknown.

Where are you going? To Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Remember me to a bonny lass there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Without any needle or thread work'd in it,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Where water ne'er sprung nor a drop of rain fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to plough me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Between the sea and the salt sea strand,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to plough it with one ram's horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And sow it all over with one peppercorn,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to reap it with a sickel of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And tie it up all with a tom tit's feather,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to gather it all in a sack,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And carry it home on a butterflies back,
And then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Jude from Thomasville, GaI have always enjoyed this song. It was really beautiful when Simon and Garfunkel performed it at the Concert in Central Park. I also remember Simon performing it on the Muppet Show just so Miss Piggy could bellow, "Getcher red hot parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme!!" at the end of it. When we use these herbs in cooking, we call the dish "a la Simon and Garfunkel".
Lance from Spring Hill, FlWhen I saw Art Garfunkel, he mentioned to the audience that this song was about loss.
Mark from Hereford, EnglandPaul Simon was living in England for a while, scratching a living round the folk circuit. He heard Scarborough fair from Martin Carthy. Dylan also heard the song from him, and turned it into 'Girl from the North Country'. As an extra fact, Paul Simon had played at a club in Widnes and was getting a train back to London from the next town, Runcorn. On this windswept station he wrote 'Homeward Bound'.
Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScBeautiful song. I always thought it was a love song. Maybe about lost love.
Ashley from Magnolia , DeI always thought the song referred to death, only because it not only mentioned spices used for embalming but some other referrences too.
Andrew from Kingston, CanadaI too get teary at times when I hear this song. To me it brings images of soldiers and their loved ones being seperated by the evil of war, but even admist this evil, their love prevails. It's ultimately a song of hope, I think, or a prayer for comfort, strength, love and courage.
But it seems deeper than that, I don't know. On another note, I've been learning how to perfect this song on guitar for a while.

Andrew
Joe from Scarborough, EnglandScarborough fair was actually closed down cos of a riot (when a load of hardcores wouldny get off the rides after closin time) last year we don't know if it will be back...
Chloe from Hampshire, EnglandI feel like crying every time I hear this song. They played it at the funeral of my cousin who died in a rock climbing accident.
Thomas from St. Charles, MoI heard somewhere that Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme are also ward against the devil. Supposedly this song was some sort of riddle posed by the devil.
AnonymousThis song is the most peaceful song ive ever heard while smoking marijuana. It's not bad sober either.
Tiffany from Dover, FlI played this song with my school orchestra in eighth grade.
Rudi from Melbourne, Australiaparsley, sage, rosemary and thyme were/are actually spices used in a pagan love spell.
Chris from Hamilton, New Zealandas they fight for a cause that was long ago forgotten. great line
Chris from Hamilton, New Zealandone of my all time fave lines is in this song
Andy from Corning, NyOne part of the song "Scarborough Fair", is a song about war (anti-vietnam). The other part of the song, "Canticle", is a love song. Basicly, Canticle is played "louder" then "scarborough Fair" is.
Randy from Beaumont, TxIn the syncopation, the song underneath "Scarborough Fair" is an anti-war (Viet Nam) song... so the song is much in the same vein as their "7 o'closk news/silent Night".. and given this context was completely misused in the movie.
Noelene from Brisbane, AustraliaParsley, sage, rosemary and thyme were spices that were used in Europe during the Middle Ages when preparing a body for burial.
- Gemma, Brisbane, Australia.
Gerard from Sheffield, Englandthe stone roses use this tune for 'elizabeth my dear' on the album 'stone roses'

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Don't Tell MeMadonna

Madonna's hit "Don't Tell Me" was written by her brother-in-law, Joe Henry, who has produced albums by Hugh Laurie and Bonnie Raitt.

Stop Your SobbingPretenders

"Stop Your Sobbing" was first recorded by The Kinks in 1964. It became the Pretenders first single 15 years later, leading to a relationship between Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde.

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)Kate Bush

The Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" is about making a deal with God to switch lives with your partner so there would be no more misunderstandings.

TrueSpandau Ballet

"True" by Spandau Ballet has some lyrics based on parts of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, including "Take your seaside arms," which in the book is "That little girl with her seaside limbs."

My GenerationThe Who

Pete Townshend wrote the lyrics for "My Generation" by The Who during a train ride from London to Southampton on his 20th birthday when he was thinking about "trying to find a place in society."

Jay-Z's 2012 "Glory" features his daughter Blue Ivy Carter's cries and coos. At less than two days old, she became the youngest ever credited artist to feature on a Billboard chart when the song debuted on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #74.