Scarborough Fair - Traditional English Song | Maria Wilgos

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"Scarborough Fair" originated as an English ballad, recounting a series of impossible tasks assigned to a former lover residing in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Primarily sung in Yorkshire and Northumbria, it featured refrains such as "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine," often set to varying melodies, commonly in Dorian mode. Frank Kidson included it in his collection "Traditional Tunes" in 1891, purportedly gathered from Whitby.

The renowned melody was documented by Ewan MacColl in 1947, sourced from Mark Anderson, a retired lead miner from Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, England. This rendition gained popularity through various musicians in the 20th century, notably Simon & Garfunkel, who learned it from Martin Carthy and recorded an iconic version during the 1960s folk rock era. However, a slightly distinct rendition, known as "The Cambric Shirt" or "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme," was captured by John Lomax in 1939 in the United States.