All is Fair in Love and Scarboro

From the first time I heard Art Garfunkel's angelic voice singing the opening lines Scarborough Fair/Canticle, my take on the old English ballad was a mistaken one.   I thought the term "Scarborough Fair" was a poetic expression of "fair Scarborough," not knowing it referred to an actual annual trading fair that took place in North Yorkshire town of Scarborough up until the 19th century (with some breaks). 

Oddly enough, Bob Dylan, who based his song "Girl from the North Country", which predated Simon and Garfunkel's song by several years, on the same artist's (Martin Carthy) rendition of that ballad, used precisely that poetic expression with his lyrics, "if you're travelin' in the north country fair."

That said, it should be noted that the English ballad was somewhat fluid and one might find Scarborough, Scarboro or Whittingham Fairs.

All these songs are rather peculiar as they require a lover to perform impossible tasks... the tasks may change with each version, but the idea remains constant.  Dylan's song bypassed the impossible tasks portion completely, morphing the song into something else entirely.   Paul Simon added the anti-war counterpoint lyrics also morphing the ballad into something else while retaining its medieval feel.

Here is Simon and Garfunkel performing "Scarborough Fair" without the anti-war counterpoint: 

Martin Carthy, who recorded his song on his 1965 album, "Martin Carthy" may have got his cue from the 1957 album "Marching Songs of the British Isles and America" by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger (whom he later married) or from "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume IV" recorded by Ewan Macoll and A.L. Lloyd in 1956:

"The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, Volume 1"  by Bertrand Harris Bronson shows some samples from Child's Ballads and other sources:

"Whittingham Fair" from "The Monthly Chronicle of North-country Lore and Legend," 1889

These lyrics are those given in "The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads"


as are these:

I've come across several places that tout the symbolic and/or medicinal significance of "parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme."   Personally, while I find them interesting, I also find them pretentious in this application.  These herbs are indeed found in recipe and medical books from the 17th and 18th centuries, often in precisely that order.  Balladeers and troubadours weren't scholars, chefs or doctors; they were performers. It seems more likely to me those herbs were used in that sequence simply because they were found that way and had a rhythmic sound to them that fit nicely into the verses.

"The Gardeners Kalendar," 1766

The "impossible tasks" were a feature of the Scottish "Elfin Knight" ballads and the Scarborough Fair ballads probably borrowed from them as can be seen in the verses I've culled from an example of the lyrics:

1.THE Elfin Knight stands on yon hill,
Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw
Blawing his horn loud and shrill.
And the wind has blawin my plaid awa

3 'Ye maun make me a fine Holland sark,
Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw
Without ony stitching or needle wark.
And the wind has blawin my plaid awa

6 'My father he askd me an acre o land,
Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw
Between the saut sea and the strand.
And the wind has blawin my plaid awa

Here are Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger singing a version of "The Elfin Knight"

Many 19th century references mention "The Elfin Knight" when presenting "Scarborough Fair," as this page from "Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs" by Frank Kidson, 1891 shows:

...Just remember me to one who lives there.

...

3º COOL

Really enjoyed

Those guys know their herbs. Personally, I've always found it difficult incorporating rosemary into my meals - it has such an overpowering flavour.

Then... haps twould behoove us to garnish the bread with it, sir?

Very well. Keep the twig will you. And be certain to splay the leaves. It does very much resemble an emblem that way.

Bollocks! I'm afraid this batch was harvested at sunset, sir.

Why's that?

Look - it simply won't keep. Scoundrel of a twig.

Hahaha! It hath seen harvest at sunset. Fret not. Take this hammer and set it tender.

Thanks for the lovely songs, batgirl. If I had to pick a favourite, I might go with Ewan's take. Though I listened to Simon's and Garfunkel's a little more over.

I learned how to cook using parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. For a while, I put all four in everything. Then, I started to learn. Rosemary is very good on well-marbled beef steak. Thyme is good on pork. Sage works on bison. Parsley is versatile, but doesn’t go on meat unless it is part of a tomato sauce.

Coleworts and cardoons make a tasty alternative.

I recited an old poem in drama class once, was so much like those lyrics.

Wish I could remember the name, or some of the verses.

Thanks @Ziryab and @batgirl, I'll remember that. One of my favourite herbs is sweet basil.

simple, sweet, awesome.

Origanum does well in those pungent dishes. 

But what is love?

Love is just a feeling. The feeling grows into a bond, but bonds channel more than just love. Only love can cleanse a bond. The question is, can you hold onto that feeling unconditionally? Then all is fair in...

Notifications sure are coming through late today.

I agree with you @Wazir20. I didn't think of the origins of the saying 'all is fair in love...', when I responded to your post earlier.

Stalking is a delicate matter. I think if the stalker is of sound mind then perhaps it's a bit romantic, and tragic at the same time if that desire can never be fulfilled. One might think that a perfectly sane person would never stalk someone but it could actually happen. Perhaps not peeping through Windows, but always aiming to be around someone is a form of stalking.

As for winning somebody over by any means, as well as propagating and glorifying that notion, I think that's tragic. That's more of an obsession than it is love. But how many of us wouldn't threaten the existence of the world for...say one's mother, or a parent's love in general.

The title is just a throw-away play on the different meanings of the word "Fair" as they are part of the posting itself.   Actually the implication I hoped to achieve was the Scarborough was a fair (lovely) place as love is a, well, lovely emotion.