Though many people know this song from Simon & Garfunkel, it actually predates them by several hundred years, with roots that go all the way back to the Middle Ages. Its lyrics, referring to an old market fair in Yorkshire that started sometime in the 14th century, are beautifully poetic: a young man delegates impossible tasks to his former lover, demanding that she complete them before she comes back to him. But the soul of this song really rests in its haunting melody
We named it one of the best English folk songs of all time
Scarborough fair lyrics
O, where are you going?" "To Scarborough fair," Savoury sage, rosemary, and thyme; "Remember me to a lass who lives there, For once she was a true love of mine.
"And tell her to make me a cambric shirt, Savoury sage, rosemary, and thyme, Without any seam or needlework, And then she shall be a true love of mine.
"And tell her to wash it in yonder dry well, Savoury sage, rosemary, and thyme, Where no water sprung, nor a drop of rain fell, And then she shall be a true love of mine.
Ask her to do me this courtesy Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme And ask for a like favour from me And then she'll be a true love of mine