The lyrics of "Scarborough Fair" have much in common with a Scottish ballad titled " The Elfin Knight ", one of the many ballads collected by Francis James Child , [2] and both songs are officially categorised as the same ballad. The song has been traced as far back as the s, and dozens of versions existed by the end of the 18th century. The references to the traditional English fair, " Scarborough Fair " and the refrain " parsley , sage , rosemary , and thyme " can only be traced to 19th century versions and the refrain may have been borrowed from the ballad Riddles Wisely Expounded , Child Ballad 1 , which has a similar plot. The oldest versions of " The Elfin Knight " circa contain the refrain "my plaid away, my plaid away, the wind shall not blow my plaid away". Some relatively recent Scottish recordings contain similar refrains such as "Blaw, blaw, blaw ye winds blaw And the dreary wind's blawed my plaidie awa'". Other versions of "The Elfin Knight" contain one of a group of related refrains:. These are usually paired with "Once s he was a true love of mine" or some variant. The "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" refrain of the "Scarborough Fair" variant may simply be an alternate rhyming refrain to the original based on a corruption of "grows merry in time" into "rosemary and thyme".


Choose your subscription


Navigation menu
As a market fair, comprising of traders, merchants and other vendors, it started sometime in the 14th century and used to take place until the 18th century. The music of the folk song is characterized by extensive harmonies and rising melodic lines. The purpose here was to develop a sensitive setting, akin to the story behind it. The song opens with acute melancholy, that then turns into a wonderful association of smooth harmonies and counter-melodies. The lyrics of Scarborough Fair puts forward the concept of unrequited love. The yearning is felt throughout the song, creating a perfect medieval love story in the process. A young man delegates certain impossible tasks to his lover with the condition that she would have to finish those to be able to come back to him.
Make informed decisions with the FT
Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust. New customers only Cancel anytime during your trial. Sign in. Accessibility help Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. Become an FT subscriber Make informed decisions with the FT Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Choose your subscription. Trial Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT. For 4 weeks receive unlimited Premium digital access to the FT's trusted, award-winning business news.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Scarborough Fair may refer to: Scarborough Fair fair , a no longer extant late Middle Ages annual trading fair in Scarborough, Yorkshire; "Scarborough Fair" ballad , a traditional English ballad; Scarborough Fair Collection , a museum of fairground mechanical organs and showman's engines in Scarborough, Yorkshire; Scarborough Faire , an annual reenactment renaissance fair also known as Scarborough Renaissance Festival held in mid-Spring in Waxahachie, Texas; Scarboro Fair , a defunct annual fair held in Scarborough, Ontario. See also [ edit ] Scarborough Festival , an end of season series of cricket matches at Scarborough, Yorkshire; Vanity Fair , a disambiguation page for a similar term that is used in many different contexts. Disambiguation page providing links to topics that could be referred to by the same search term. Categories : Disambiguation pages. Hidden categories: Disambiguation pages with short descriptions Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version.