Scarborough Fair

As mentioned in one of my previous post, my English name, Royston probably created my affinity with British culture. An example of such affinity is my liking for this song known as "Scarborough Fair". There are several singers who sung this song but Sarah Brightman is my favourite and best of all, she is a British too.

Most of us listen to songs and probably anyone that does it has his/her own list of favourite songs but how many of us will attempt to find out and understand the meanings of our favourite songs? After all, all songs are written to convey certain meanings or story.

In the case of "Scarborough Fair", lets first examine the song title. According to Wikipedia, Scarborough Fair is a seaside town in Yorkshire, England where merchants from nearby region would gather for an annual trading event during medieval time. However, Scarborough Fair is also a traditional ballad (folk song) of Great Britain that relates a story of a man instructing his former love to complete a series of impossible tasks before he could accept her back.

*Lyrics of the song are in Italics font.

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

The meaning for the second line of the lyrics has also been also widely debated. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are herbs and during those days, they are used as symbol of what someone has to say or felt about someone or something (similar to giving flowers in modern context). Parsley is for removing bitterness, sage is for cleansing, thyme is for courage and rosemary is for love.

The rest of the lyrics describe the impossible tasks.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without no seams nor needlework
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Tell her to find me an acre of land
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Between the salt water
And the sea strand
Then she'll be a true love of mine

Tell her to reap it
With a sickle of leather
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
Then she'll be a true love of mine

You may have wondered at this point, after knowing the meaning of this song, how a lady like Sarah Brightman sung this song when the story is about a man rejecting a lady. The answer is pretty straightforward. Whenever there is a "her" or "she" in the lyrics, substitute them with "him" and "he" accordingly.

You may want to listen to the song here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOvxOawslVE

I simply love Sarah Brightman's version of this song as it somehow "reflect" traditional English culture very well. Now you can imagine how much I like English culture, do you?

I am looking forward to sing this song the next time I go KTV.

Anyway, perhaps you should start finding out the meaning of your favourite songs.