Scarborough Fair
Along with Barbara Allen, a Child Ballad that made its way into popular culture is “Scarborough Fair,” which was recorded by Simon and Garfunkel. The traditional ballad of Scarborough Fair was derived from the “The Elfin Night,” which is Child Ballad 2. Printed below is version 2G of "The Elfin Night" and the lyrics to "Scarborough Fair."
‘CAN you make me a cambrick shirt,
Refrain: Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without any seam or needle work?
Refrain: And you shall be a true lover of mine
‘Can you wash it in yonder well,
Where never sprung water nor rain ever fell?
‘Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
‘Now you have askd me questions three,
I hope you’ll answer as many for me.
‘Can you find me an acre of land
Between the salt water and the sea sand?
‘Can you plow it with a ram’s horn,
And sow it all over with one pepper corn?
‘Can you reap it with a sickle of leather,
And bind it up with a peacock’s feather?
‘When you have done, and finishd your work,
Then come to me for your cambrick shirt.’
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 (On the side of a hill in the deep forest green).
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (Tracing a sparrow on snow-crested ground).
Without no seams nor needlework (Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain).
Then she'll be a true love of mine (Sleeps unaware of the clarion call).
Tell her to find me an acre of land (On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves).
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (Washes the ground with so many tears).
Between the salt water and the sea strand (A soldier cleans and polishes a gun).
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather (War bellows, blazing in scarlet battalions).
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (Generals order their soldiers to kill).
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather (And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten).
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