Scarborough fair
Paul Simon Lyrics


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Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Without no seams nor needlework
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Tell her to find me an acre of land
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Between the salt water and the sea strand
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme




Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Scarborough Fair are evocative and mysterious, with their references to folk herbs and obscure requests for clothing and land ownership. The song appears to be a conversation between two people, with the first speaker asking the second if they are going to Scarborough Fair, a popular event in medieval England. The second speaker responds with a series of requests for the first to pass along to a former lover who lives in Scarborough.


These requests are curious in their specificity – the former lover is asked to make a cambric shirt without seams or needlework, to find an acre of land between the salt water and the sea strand, and to reap the land with a sickle of leather and gather it in a bunch of heather. These requests seem to be impossible tasks, and yet they are presented as the conditions for the former lover to be considered a true love of the singer.


The song is haunting in its simplicity, and the addition of the traditional melody and harmonies make it a memorable piece of folk music. Some have interpreted the lyrics as a series of tests for the former lover to prove her devotion, while others view the requests as symbolic of different virtues or strengths. Whatever the interpretation, Scarborough Fair remains a classic piece of folk music that continues to intrigue and captivate listeners today.



Line by Line Meaning

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Are you planning to visit the Scarborough fair?


Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
These are the ingredients of the recipe I am about to tell you.


Remember me to one who lives there
Please give my regards to someone who is living there.


She once was a true love of mine
She used to be my lover.


Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Ask her to sew a fine, delicate fabric shirt for me.


Without no seams nor needlework
Without any stitches, seams, or needlework.


Then she'll be a true love of mine
If she does this for me, I will love her forever.


Tell her to find me an acre of land
Ask her to find a piece of land that is one acre in size.


Between the salt water and the sea strand
Somewhere near the ocean or seashore.


Then she'll be a true love of mine
If she finds this land for me, I will love her forever.


Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather
Instruct her to cut the crops using a sickle that has a leather handle.


And to gather it all in a bunch of heather
To collect everything in a bunch of heather plants.


Then she'll be a true love of mine
If she does this for me, I will love her forever.


Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Are you planning to visit the Scarborough fair?


Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
These are the ingredients of the recipe I am about to tell you.


Remember me to one who lives there
Please give my regards to someone who is living there.


She once was a true love of mine
She used to be my lover.




Contributed by Julia P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@larry2388

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. (thanks, 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 2 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." "The Side Of a Hill" was reworked into the Canticle part of "Scarborough Fair." (thanks, 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. (thanks, Marciliano - Fortaleza, Brazil)



All comments from YouTube:

@emmanuelanthony6743

It’s 2023 and I’m still here listening to this soul massaging sound ❤

@bernardinoaguirre-on3gr

Yup.. me too

@thomasblewden9699

@@bernardinoaguirre-on3gr

@100aceswid

Me too

@gill186

Me too 🥰

@beachpreachr1894

Me three.

12 More Replies...

@Blisstew

At almost 70, this song takes me back to my youth. My siblings and I, like so many loved this song. I wanted the shirt they sang about, and my grandmother taught me to embroider. At the time I wore light blue, long-sleeved work shirts to do construction work with my twin brother and father for dad's construction company. But, unlike the song, I wanted needle work on my shirts, so I embroidered brightly colored flowers, twisting green vines, dark leaves around my cuffs, up my sleeves, along the collar, and down the front pleat around the button holes. Colorful shirts in deep reds, golds, greens. It made my uncle smile at me on the job for his work shirts were all grey. How I wish now that I'd have offered to embroider his shirts. I wonder if he'd have taken me up on it. The girl I once loved, I still love. Married 50 years to her now. Praise God for such a blessing.

@ocjok3r

I am envious, but also very happy for you. I hope one day I will experience lovr

@Turgon92

im someone with less than half your age,thank you for sharing.
im intrigued by the embroideries you mention,were they of your own doing?

@carolnauertz2618

I would love to see that shirt.

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