Scarborough fair
Rosalind McAllister Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Without a seam or needlework,
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Where never spring water or rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Now he has asked me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
I hope he'll answer as many for me
Before he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to buy me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Between the salt water and the sea sand,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And sow it all over with one pepper corn,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to sheer't with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
And bind it up with a peacock feather.
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to thrash it on yonder wall,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
And never let one corn of it fall,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
When he has done and finished his work.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme:
Oh, tell him to come and he'll have his shirt,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
The lyrics to "Scarborough Fair" are believed to date back to the Middle Ages and tell the story of a man seeking the love of a woman who has left him. He sends a message to her through a third party, asking her to perform a series of impossible tasks in order to prove her love for him. The tasks include making a shirt without a seam or stitch, washing it in a well where no water has ever fallen, drying it on a thorn that has never borne fruit, and plowing an acre of land with a horned ram, sowing it with a single pepper corn and using a leather sickle to cut it down, and then threshing it without letting a single grain fall. The woman responds by asking the man three impossible questions of her own, essentially demanding that he perform equally absurd tasks to prove his love for her.
The reference to herbs in the opening lines ("parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme") is believed to have symbolic meaning, with each herb representing a different virtue. Parsley represents comfort, sage represents strength, rosemary represents remembrance, and thyme represents courage. Together, they form a sort of mystical invocation that is repeated throughout the song. Some interpretations of the song suggest that the impossible tasks are a parody of courtly love conventions, which often demanded unrealistic feats from lovers in order to prove their devotion. Others see the song as a more straightforward cautionary tale about the dangers of making unreasonable demands of one's romantic partners.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Will you attend the marketplace at Scarborough?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
These are the herbs used in the following requests
Remember me to one who lives there,
Please give my greetings to someone living in Scarborough
For once she was a true lover of mine.
At some point, she and I shared a loving relationship
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Ask her to create a shirt made of fine linen fabric
Without a seam or needlework,
This shirt should not have any stitches
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
If she completes this task, it will prove her love for me
Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Instruct her to clean the shirt in the nearby well
Where never spring water or rain ever fell,
The well must only contain still water
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
If she follows these instructions, she will show her love for me
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Hang the shirt to dry on the nearby thorn tree
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
This tree has never produced flowers
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
By completing this task, she will prove her love for me
Now he has asked me questions three,
The person I addressed earlier has posed three questions
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
These same herbs will be used in his requests as well
I hope he'll answer as many for me
I hope he will answer my own set of questions in return
Before he shall be a true lover of mine.
His response will determine whether he truly loves me or not
Tell him to buy me an acre of land,
Instruct him to purchase a plot of land for me
Between the salt water and the sea sand,
This land should be near the ocean
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
If he does this task, it will prove his love for me
Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn,
He should use a horned animal to till the land
And sow it all over with one pepper corn,
He is to plant only one seed of pepper across the entire plot
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
If he dutifully follows these instructions, it will show his love for me
Tell him to sheer't with a sickle of leather,
He should cut the harvest of the plot with a leather blade
And bind it up with a peacock feather.
He is to gather the crops with a peacock feather
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
If he fulfills these tasks, it will prove his love for me
Tell him to thrash it on yonder wall,
He is to beat the crops against the nearby wall
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
He should continue using these herbs throughout this process
And never let one corn of it fall,
He must be diligent in ensuring no crop is wasted
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
By following these instructions, he will show his love for me
When he has done and finished his work.
Once he has completed all of these tasks
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme:
These herbs will signify the task is complete
Oh, tell him to come and he'll have his shirt,
He can retrieve the shirt made for him
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
By following through with all of these tasks, he will prove his love for me
Contributed by Henry L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.