> Martin Carthy > Songs > Scarborough Fair / The Elfin Knight
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> Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr > Songs > Whittingham Fair / For Whittingham Fair
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The Elfin Knight / Scarborough Fair / Whittingham Fair / Rosemary Lane

[ Roud 12 ; Master title: The Elfin Knight ; Child 2 ; G/D 2:329 ; Ballad Index C002 ; The Elfin Knight at Fire Draw Near ; TrueLover at Old Songs ; VWML CJS2/10/2868 , RoudFS/S214281 ; Wiltshire 1074 ; Just Another Tune; trad.]

Sabine Baring-Gould, Henry Fleetwood Sheppard: Songs of the West Lucy E. Broadwood, J.A. Fuller Maitland: English County Songs Katherine Campbell: Songs From North-East Scotland J. Collingwood Bruce, John Stokoe: Northumbrian Minstrelsy Nick Dow: Southern Songster Alexander Keith: Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs Frank Kidson: Traditional Tunes Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger: Travellers’ Songs From England and Scotland John Morrish: The Folk Handbook John Jacob Niles: The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles Colm O Lochlainn: More Irish Street Ballads Roy Palmer: Folksongs Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl: The Singing Island Cecil J. Sharp: One Hundred English Folksongs John Stokoe: Songs and Ballads of Northern England

The first track, The Elfin Knight, on the anthology The Child Ballads 1 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 4; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1970) is a medley of the first nine verses of Bob and Ron Copper of Rottingdean singing An Acre of Land, recorded by Peter Kennedy in 1955, and the first four verses of Thomas Moran of Mohill, Co. Leitrim, singing Strawberry Lane, recorded by Seamus Ennis in December 1954 (BBC recording 22026). The album’s booklet noted:

This most widely known of the ancient riddling ballads in both Britain and America is sometimes given a story setting. A maiden in her bower hears the distant horn of the elfin knight, wishes he were with her and he immediately appears. Before he will become her lover, he demands that she answer a series of conundrums in rhyme. Many scholars feel, however, that this fairy drama was a late addition to a tradition in which riddles played a part in courtship, in puberty and fertility rites. Certainly, the sexual symbolism even in these contemporary versions is merely veiled, and the universal popularity of the song may, indeed, be due to the unconscious perception of the meaning of symbol-series. In the language of folk botany, for instance, rosemary stood for constancy and thyme for fecundity; and these herbs were put in a girl’s pillow to bring on dreams of a future husband. Bronson says (p. 9) that the ‘sing-ivy’ form of the tune appeared in Southern England in the 19^th century; that the ‘every-rose’ form goes back a century before; and that the oldest setting of the ballad is, perhaps, the ‘plaid-awa’’ air, the tune for which appears in Vol. II of this series.
See Coffin, p. 30.

Martha Reid of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, sang The Elfin Knight in 1955 to Maurice Fleming. This field recording was included in 2011 on the Greentrax CD Songs and Ballads From Perthshire (Scottish Tradition 24). Further versions of her can be found on Peter Shepheard’s Springthyme Records page of The Elfin Knight.

A.L. Lloyd sang Scarborough Fair in 1956 on his and Ewan MacColl’s Riverside anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume IV. All of his ballads from this series were reissued in 2011 on his Fellside CDs Bramble Briars and Beams of the Sun. Kenneth S. Goldstein noted:

One of the most universal of folk tales is that of the impossible tasks. Variations on this theme are numerous. In this ballad, the form it takes is that of the courtship, with one flirtatious lover setting a series of tasks and his companion meeting the challenge by setting an equally difficult series. Many of the tasks have ribald meanings, usually not difficult to discern beneath their surface absurdities.

Early forms of the ballad have an elfin knight pose the impossible tasks, to be answered by a maiden who remains free by devising tasks of no less difficulty which must be answered first. Child considered the elf an interloper from another ballad, and modern folk, consistent with their tendency to reject supernatural elements, have made both characters mortal enough. One wonders, however, whether the plant refrain given here was not originally intended as an incantation against the supernatural suitor, for each of the herbs mentioned is known to students of the mythology of plants as having ‘magical’ qualities.

The version sung by Lloyd was reported by Frank Kidson in 1891 as “sung by a ballad singer in Whitby [Yorkshire] streets twenty or thirty years ago”. No doubt this version was originally performed as a duet, the first four verses being sung by the man, the last four by the woman.

See Child (2), Volume I, p. 6ff; Coffin, pp. 30-31; Dean-Smith, p. 65; Greig & Keith, pp. 1-2.

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger sang The Elfin Knight in 1956 on their Tradition album Classic Scots Ballads, and in 1986 on their Blackthorne album Blood & Roses Volume 5. He noted on the first album:

A universal theme of both folk tale and ballad is that of impossible tasks. In this ballad, the form it takes is that of the courtship, with on flirtatious lover setting a series of tasks and his companion meeting the challenge by setting an equally difficult series. In early forms of the ballad, an elfin knight posed the tasks, to be answered by a maiden who remains free by devising tasks of no less difficulty which must be answered first. Modern folk have made both characters mortal enough. Child had nineteen versions of this ballad, which he traced in his affinities through many languages of Europe and Asia. It is well known in England and America. This version was learned from Greig’s Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs.

Ewan MacColl sang Scarborough Fair and Peggy Seeger sang The Cambric Shirt in 1957 on their Riverside album Matching Songs of the British Isles and America. Kenneth S. Goldstein noted:

This ballad is number 2 in the Child collection and appears there under the title The Elfin Knight. One of the most universal of folk tales is that of the impossible tasks. The form it takes in this ballad is that of the courtship, with one flirtatious lover setting a series of tasks and his companion meeting the challenge by setting an equally difficult series. Early forms of the ballad, dating from the last half of the 17^th century, have an elfin knight pose the impossible tasks, to be answered by a maiden who remains free by devising tasks of no less difficulty which must be answered first.

Child considered the elf an interloper from another ballad, and modern folk, consistent with their tendency to reject supernatural elements, have made both characters mortal enough. One wonders, however, whether the plant refrain was not originally intended as an incantation against the supernatural suitor, for each of the herbs mentioned is known to students of the mythology of plants as having “magical” qualities. Notice, too, how the plant refrain in Miss Seeger’s American version has been changed, undoubtedly due to the lack of understanding by traditional singers of the original herb and flower symbolisms.

Two verses and the tune of MacColl’s version were learned [in 1947] from the singing of Mark Anderson, retired lead miner of Teesdale, Yorkshire; additional verses are from Kidson’s Traditional Tunes (1891). Miss Seeger’s version is a composite of several variants collected by Sharp in the Southern Appalachians.

MacColl also sang The Elfin Knight on his 1964 Folkways album The English and Scottish Popular Ballads: Vol. 3—Child Ballads.

Tony Wales sang Sing Ivy in 1957 on his Folkways album Sussex Folk Songs and Ballads. Kenneth S. Goldstein noted:

This appears to be a very reduced version of The Elfin Knight (Child #2). The original ballad takes the form of a courtship, with one flirtatious lover setting a series of tasks and his companion meeting the challenge by setting an equally difficult series. In early forms of that ballad, an elfin knight poses the tasks. Modern folk, consistent with their tendency to reject supernatural elements, have made both characters mortal enough. One wonders if the plant refrain, also found in version sung here, was not originally intended as an incantation against the supernatural suitor. As sung here, the ballad has been reduced to the statement of accomplishing a seemingly absurd series of tasks.

This version was collected from Mr. C. Potter of Horsham, who had learned it from his father.

Shirley Collins sang Scarborough Fair unaccompanied in 1960 on her second album, False True Lovers. She noted:

Derived by MacColl from Cecil Sharp’s English Folk Songs, [this] is a fragment of an extremely ancient ballad (Child No. 2, The Elfin Knight), common in all areas of Britain and North America. In the original song a girl hears the far-off blast of the elfin knight’s horn and wishes he were in her bedroom. He straightaway appears, but will not consent to be her lover until she answers a series of riddles. This trait of test-by-riddle is a heritage from remote antiquity. The survival of this ancient piece of folklore is assured by the fact that all the couplets in this song contain gentle, but evocative erotic symbols.

Sara Cleveland of Brant Lake, New York, sang Every Rose Grows Merry in Time to Sandy Paton in 1965. This recording was included in 1968 on her Folk-Legacy album Ballads & Songs of the Upper Hudson Valley.

Martin Carthy sang Scarborough Fair in 1965 on his first album Martin Carthy, and it was included on the compilations The Big Folk, Shades of Folk, and Electric Muse: The Story of Folk into Rock, and in 1999 on Martin Carthy: A Collection. He sang a slightly different version on Wood Wilson Carthy, and yet another together with Bert Jansch on Acoustic Routes under the title The Elfin Knight. These two versions were both included as starting and closing track of the 4 CD anthology The Carthy Chronicles. A live performance from 10 March 2024 was released in the same year on the Broadside Hacks cassette A Tribute to Les Cousins. Carthy noted on his first album:

Folklorists and students of plant mythology are well aware that certain herbs were held to have magical significance—that they were used by sorcerers in their spells and conversely as counter-spells by those that wished to outwit them. The herbs mentioned in the refrain of Scarborough Fair (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) are all known to have been closely associated with death and also as charms against the evil eye. The characters in the Elfin Knight (of which Scarborough Fair is a version) are a demon and a maid. The demon sets impossible tasks and on the maid’s replies depends whether she will fall into his clutches or not. Child believed that elf to be an interloper from another ballad (Lady Isobel and the Elf Knight) and that he should rightly be mortal, but as Ann Gilchrist points out “why the use of the herb refrain except as an indication of something more than mortal combat?” Sir Walter Scott in his notes to Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border recalled hearing a ballad of “a fiend …paying his addresses to a maid but being disconcerted by the holy herbs she wore in her bosom” and Lucy Broadwood goes as far as to suggest that the refrain might be the survival of an incantation against such a suitor.

This video shows Martin Carthy with members of the Aurora Orchestra on BBC Radio 3 In Tune on 24 February 2012:

In 1966, Paul Simon had a big hit with this song in Martin Carthy’s arrangement as title track of Simon & Garfunkel’s album Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme. He also sang Scarborough Fair in episode 5/11 of The Muppet Show:

Pam Brown sang Strawberry Lane live at Folk Union One in 1969. This recording was included in the same year on the folk club’s album Blue Bell Folk Sing.

Cyril Tawney sang The Tasks in 1969 on his Polydor album of traditional ballads from Devon and Cornwall, The Outlandish Knight. He noted:

A composite version of The Elfin Knight taken from the Baring-Gould manuscripts. With the exception of two verses from John Hext of Postbridge, Devon (October 1890), all the ‘ingredients’ come from West of the Tamar. An unknown source from the Camelford district supplied Baring-Gould with all the other verses and I have used the refrain sung to him by Joseph Dyer of Mawgan-in-Pyder, together with Dyer’s tune. Baring-Gould was told that in Cornwall this used to be sung as a sort of game in farm-houses, between a young man who went outside the room, a girl who sat on a chair and a chorus of farm lads and lasses. The man re-entered and addressed the girl with the first half of the ballad and she replied with the second half. Known as Whittingham Fair in Northumberland and Scarborough Fair in Yorkshire, a chocolate-boxy version of the latter being very popular with modern folk-singers.

Robin and Barry Dransfield sang Scarborough Fair in 1970 on their Trailer album The Rout of the Blues. A live recording of Robin Dransfield at the Medway Folk Centre in November 1972 was included in 2008 on his CD A Lighter Touch. Robin Dransfield also sang Scarborough Fair at the Kertalg 73 Folk Festival in France.

John Renbourn played the tune of Scarborough Fair in 1970 on his instrumental Transatlantic album The Lady and the Unicorn.

Folkal Point sang Scarborough Fair in 1972 on their eponymous Midas album Folcal Point.

Elizabeth (Liz) Jefferies sang this song, with the unusual title Rosemary Lane, at home in Kilmore, Co Wexford, on 12 December 1972 to Tom Munnelly. This recording was included in 1985 on the Folk Music Society of Ireland anthology Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985, reissued on CD in 2015 by An Goílín. She also sang it to Barry and Chris Morgan in their own home in Bristol in September 1976. This recording can be found on the anthology As Me and My Love Sat Courting (The Voice of the People Series Volume 15; Topic 1998).

Bert Jansch sang Are You Going to Scarborough Fair? on Pentangle’s 1973 album One More Road.

Sarah Ogan Gunning of Medford, Massachusetts, sang Cambric Shirt to Mark Wilson on 5 July 1974. This recording was included in 2007 on the Musical Traditions anthology of folks songs of the Upper South collected by Wilson, Meeting’s a Pleasure Volume 1. Wilson noted:

[…] Perhaps the listener can glean a bit of Sarah’s warm personality from the explanation she offers of this song’s significance (or lack thereof). The esteemed folk song scholar Norm Cohen made the following interesting observation after listening to a mockup of this project:

One of the passages I most enjoyed when I listened to the CDs was Sarah Gunning’s comment about some song that obviously had a few lines of nonsense. I felt this was a powerful antidote to the folklorists who struggle to read a deep subconscious meaning into such texts.

I might enlarge upon this remark by observing that I’ve generally found that the majority of traditional musicians can provide quite pointed and detailed explanations of why they happen to like a particular song or instrumental piece and it is often patronising to presume that some other explanation need be given. In its original Child ballad context as The Elfin Knight, this song told a narrative story, but in most modern versions, its essence has been reduced to a poetic, tit-for-tat taunt. A good note on the ballad’s background can be found in Palmer, Folksongs Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Some excellent recorded versions: Tom Newman, MT 311; Sara Cleveland, FL 33; Annadeene Fraley, JA 58.

June Tabor sang Scarborough Fair in a BBC Radio 1 John Peel session recorded on 4 March and first broadcast on 10 March 1975. I do not know of a release of this on any album.

Liz Jefferies sang Rosemary Lane to Barry and Chris Morgan in their own home in Bristol in September 1976. This track was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology of songs of love, courtship and marriage, As Me and My Love Sat Courting (The Voice of the People Volume 15).

The Spinners sang Scarborough Fair on their 1983 album In Our Liverpool Home. This is probably their track that was included in 2006 on the Castle Music anthology Scarborough Fair.

Nancy Kerr sang Whittingham Fair in 1993 on her and Eliza Carthy’s eponymous album Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr and on their compilation CD On Reflection. Nancy noted on the original album:

Whittingham Fair is from Folk Songs of the North Countrie by Frank Kidson and Alfred Moat, under the title Scarborough Fair. The “Northumbrianised” version is from my mother and the tune can be found in Kidson’s Traditional Tunes.

and Eliza added:

[The tune] For Whittingham Fair was a flash of inspiration while I was learning the song in my bedroom. Original title, isn’t it?

Their recording from an Andy Kershaw radio session on 12 March 1994 was included in 2020 on Eliza Carthy’s CD Live to Air.

Brian Peters sang Scarborough Fair in 1994 on his CD Squeezing Out Sparks.

Sue Brown and Lorraine Irwing sang Scarborough Fair in 1997 on their WildGoose CD Call & Cry. They noted:

One of the ancient riddle songs, also found as The Lovers’ Tasks or The Elfin Knight. This version is from Sharp’s One Hundred English Folksongs, and was collected in Goathland, North Yorkshire, in 1913 [VWML CJS2/10/2868] .

Roy Harris sang Cambric Shirt (Flim-a-lim-a-lee) at a concert at The White Lion folk club in Wherwell, Hampshire in 1997. A recording of this concert war released in 1999 on his WildGoose CD Live at the Lion.

Lucky Bags sang Whittingham Fair in 1998 on their Fellside CD Delight in Disorder. They noted:

The text of this version is from Songs and Ballads of Northern England (Stokoe) and has the same pedigree as its better known cousin, Scarborough Fair, both originating from Child Ballad no. 2 The Elfin Knight. The setting of impossible tasks seems to have been a very popular way of whiling away the time in many different parts of Britain. (Producer’s note: c.f. recording Lucky Bags!)

Moira Craig sang The Elfin Knight on her 2000 album On ae Bonny Day. She noted:

Before she can get her young man, he sets her several, unattainable tasks. She then decides that she will do his if he will do some for her. A version of Scarborough Fair, this comes from a recording by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger (Blood & Roses Volume 5), but is very similar to that in Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland. It doesn’t actually tell you if she gets her man!

Elspeth Cowie sang The Laird o’ Elfin in 2000 on her Scotfolk album Naked Voice. She noted:

A young woman outwits the Lord of Elfland in one of the great courting riddle songs of the Scots tradition. The second and fourth lines repeat throughout.

Derek and Dorothy Elliott sang Scarborough Fair on their 2002 album with Chris Parkinson, Ship to Shore.

Tim van Eyken sang The Cambric Shirt in 2003 on Dr Faustus’ Fellside CD The First Cut. They noted:

The Cambric Shirt is one of many variants on the subject of lovers’ riddles, the best known of which is Scarborough Fair. It can be found in Roy Palmer’s book Bushes and Briars.

Dave Webber and Anni Fentiman sang Whittingham Fair in 2006 on their Old and New Tradition album Unity. They noted:

Anni first heard this song on an LP by the wonderful singer Owen Brannigan, famous for his opera but well known in the North East for his renditions of dialect songs. One of the many versions of Scarborough Fair: Great last verse!

Matt Quinn sang Rosemary Lane in 2008 on The Mighty Quinn’s album Thicker Than Water. They noted:

Rosemary Lane is a Scarborough Fair variant sung by Liz Jefferies from Co Wexford on the Topic CD series Voice of the People.

Christi Andropolis sang Cambric Shirt in 2010 on her Furrow Records album Rust & Holler.

Chris Wood sang Scarborough Fair in 2010 on The Imagined Village’s album Empire and Love. This track was also included on the Lush anthology Fresh Handmade Sound: Synaesthesia.

Jon Boden sang Scarborough Fair as the 14 March 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.

The FLK sang Troubadour on their 2011 album Mummers.

Emily Smith sang this ballad as Sweet Lover of Mine in 2011 on her CD Traiveller’s Joy. This track was also included on the CD BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012. She also sang it in a bonus session of the DVD Cambridge Folk Festival 2011.

Mike and Ali Vass sang The Elfin Knight in 2011 on their CD Waiting to Fly.

Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham sang The Riddle Song and Lovers’ Tasks on their 2012 WildGoose album Well Dressed.

Alasdair Roberts and Mairi Morrison sang The Tri-Coloured House in 2012 on their Drag City album Uratan. They noted:

This is a version of the popular ballad more commonly known as Scarborough Fair, which is related to the ballad known in F.J. Child’s The English and Scottish Popular Ballads as The Elfin Knight. The melody is an Irish one from a version (recorded by the late Irish folklorist Tom Munnelly) sung by Mary McDonagh of Leitrim. The lyrics of this version are partly based on those sung by Mary McDonagh and partly drawn from a version of the ballad which appears in the Neil M. Gunn novel The Silver Darlings (1941). At the end of the song, I sing a fragment of Taladh Leannain composed by Alasdair Sinclair of Tiree (Alasdair Neill Òig).

Andy Clarke and Steve Tyler sang Rosemary Fair in 2013 on their WildGoose CD Wreck off Scilly. Andy Clarke noted:

From the ‘Tasks’ family of songs. This tune originally came from an Irish version of the song which I heard around 30 years ago but I have slowed it down, took out the ‘dots’ and fitted a set of words.

Bellowhead sang Rosemary Lane in 2014 on their Island record Revival. They also sang it at De Montford Hall, Leicester, on 19 November 2015 which was released on their 2016 CD and DVD The Farewell Tour, and they recorded it for their 2021 album Reassembled. They noted on the first album:

Taken from a singer called Liz Jefferies (the original being available on the Voice of the People CD series issued by Topic Records), almost everyone will be aware of the underlying story in that it’s a version of Scarborough Fair, known the world over via Simon & Garfunkel. It’s a song where a suitor is set a number of impossible tasks in order to satisfy the demands of their prospective lover. The narrative is so strong that it’s survived down the generations, like many a fable of fairy tale, albeit in subtly changed versions. But in true trad style, all these versions are actually themselves a much abridged version of an even older folk song called The Elfin Knight. Incidentally, Paul Simon’s version was borrowed from a legendary figure in English folk, Martin Carthy.

Pete Coe and Alice Jones sang Scarborough Fair on their 2014 album celebrating the legacy of Frank Kidson, The Search for Five Finger Frank.

Lisa Knapp, Gerry Diver and Mavrika sang Scarborough Fair live on 14 March 2014 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. A recording of this concert was released on the CD supporting the 2018 Save fRoots crowdfunding campaign, Bridges.

Lynched (now known as Lankum) sang The Tri-Coloured House on their 2014 CD Cold Old Fire.

Kim Edgar learned The Elfin Knight from Gavin Greig’s Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads and Ballad Airs (Aberdeen, 1925) and sang it on Cara’s 2016 CD Yet We Sing. They noted:

[…] Kim was immediately drawn to this song’s themes: enchantment, desire, the supernatural, and relationships that aren’t destined to be. It’s been previously recorded by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger on their [1956] album, Classic Scots Ballads, amongst others—but for this version we’ve made a new arrangement.

Daria Kulesh sang Lovers’ Task in 2016 on Kara’s CD Some Other Shore. They noted:

Collected by Cecil Sharp, this is a version of Scarborough Fair—but make sure you get your herbs right. It’s “setherwood, sale, rosemary and thyme”, forget the parsley and sage. If in doubt, ask Kate [Rouse], a qualified herbalist, she not only found and arranged this little gem of a song but also wrote the waltz at the end, which is dedicated to Maclaine for never having any milk in the house.

Eliza Carthy sang The Elfin Knight on her and Norma Waterson’s 2018 album Anchor, and Martin Carthy sang a new version of Scarborough Fair, which comes from Goathland, on the same album.

Sandra Kerr sang Whittingham Fair on her 2019 CD Rebel With Her Chords. She noted:

A version of the Elfin Knight, which can be found in the Northumbrian Minstrelsy. Two lovers set each other impossible tasks in a flighting match. The woman wins—or at least, has the last word.

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne sang Strawberry Lane on his 2021 album Rakes & Misfits. He noted:

Another song found in a browsing session of Bronson’s Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads. This variant of the Elfin Knight ballad was collected by Cecil Sharp from William Huxtable from Rowbarton, Somerset in 1906 under the title The Lover’s Tasks [VWML RoudFS/S214281] . Sitting on the page next to it in Bronson’s was a variant under the title Strawberry Lane, which I thought sounded a rather nice title, so I took it, along with the opening verse, and tacked it onto William Huxtable’s song. This Strawberry Lane variant also included a yodelling chorus, but you will be pleased to hear that I have decided against including that!

Joshua Burnell sang Scarborough Fair on 6 December 2017 in his “a folk song a week” song cycle. This was included in 2021 on his album Seasons Vol. 4 Autumn. He noted:

You’ll know this one from the duo who brought you the best haircuts of the 60s. That’s right: Simon & Garfunkel. They learned this song from Martin Carthy, then made it a worldwide hit. Can you imagine what the world would be like if he’d played them The Devil and the Feathery Wife?

It is a song about someone telling someone else to give a list of obscure tasks to their ex who lives in Scarborough, interspersed with a refrain featuring the contents of their herb cupboard. I’ve never thought it makes much sense, to be honest, which may be because the motif of the tasks was possibly lifted from an older song called The Elfin Knight, in which this poor lady has to keep coining up with impossible tasks to keep an elf at bay as he tries to abduct her.

The words might be completely barmy, but the tune is beautiful. So I decided to do something a bit different and focus on the specific parts of this song that draw me to it. The Mellotron is an early form of synthesiser that plays back each note from an individual reel of tape. At some point in the 1950s or 1960s, a choir sang each individual note so that people could make them sing new songs forever.

I borrowed their voices for this arrangement, which I think they sing beautifully and ethereally. It is strange to think that on the day their voices were recorded, the singers may never have heard Scarborough Fair, yet here they are singing it, over fifty years later.

Anna Tam sang Whittingham Fair on her 2021 CD Anchoress. She noted:

From Bruce and Stokoe’s 1880 Northumbrian Minstrelsy (slightly edited). I like to focus on the past tense aspect of the love—For once she was a true love of mine. I’d say, if things have broken down so far in your relationship that you need a ‘go-between’ it’s probably a bad idea to ask her to make you a really difficult shirt.

Peter Knight and John Spiers played a free improvisation version of the tune of Scarborough Fair on their 2022 album Both in a Tune.

Fiona Hunter sang The Laird o Elfin on her 2024 album Atween the Salt Sea and the Sand.

Compare to this the related song An Acre of Land, sung by Jim and Bob Copper in a 1952 BBC recording on Come Write Me Down and by John Kirkpatrick on Brass Monkey’s album Sound and Rumour.

Lyrics

Thomas Moran sings Strawberry Lane

Now as you are goin’ down Strawberry Lane,
Every rose grows merry betimes,
It’s there you will meet a pretty young man,
And tell him that he’s a true lover of mine.

And tell him to get me a Holland shirt,
Every rose grows merry betimes,
Without stitch or seam or needlework,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

And tell him to wash it in yon spring well,
Where water ne’er fell, nor water ne’er sprung.

And tell him to dry it on yon whin bush,
Where there ne’er grew a thorn since Adam was born.

Now as you are gain’ down Strawberry Lane,
Every rose grows merry betimes,
It’s there you will meet a pretty young man,
And tell him that he’s a true lover of mine.

And tell him to get me an acre of land,
Every rose grows merry betimes,
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to plough it with yon deer’s horn,
And sow it all over with one grain of com.

And tell him to reap it with shavings o’ leather,
And bind it all up in a peacock’s feather.

Tell him to tackle a wran and draw it home,
And build it all in a small mouse-hole.

And tell him to thatch it with midges’ claws,
And rope it round with pismires’ paws.

And tell him to thresh it on yon church wall,
And not let chaff or com fall.

And when he has finished and done his work,
Every rose grows merry betimes,
Send him to me and I’ll give him the shirt,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

Martha Reid sings The Elfin Knight

O fetch to me aye a Holland shirt,
Aye thout either needle or needle work.
For you’ll wash it in to yon draw well
Where there never was water nor one drop o dew fell.

For you’ll hing it oer yon Thornhaugh bush,
Where there never was thorns since Adam was born.
And it’s ho, ho the wind’ll blow.

For you’ll fetch to me two acres of land
Between thon salt sea and thon salt sea strand.
For you’ll ploo it up with a devil tup’s horn,
You will sew it ower with one grain of corn,
And it’s ho, ho the wind’ll blow.

For you will ripen it up with one blink o sand,
You’ll cut it down with a pea-hen’s feather.
You’ll stook it up by the stung of a nettle,
And it’s ho, ho the wind’ll blow.

For you’ll yoke two sparrows in a matchbox,
An cart it home to your own farm yard,
And it’s ho, ho the wind’ll blow.

For surely when you put such task on me,
I’ll surely put aye as hard on you.
You’ll, how many ships sails in thy forest?
How many strawberries grows on the salt sea?
And it’s ho, ho the wind’ll blow.

A.L. Lloyd sings Scarborough Fair

“O, where are you going? To Scarborough Fair?
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to a lass that lives there,
For she was once 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 spuing nor a drop of rain fell,
And then she shall be a true love of mine.

“And tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
And then she shall be a true love of mine.”

“O, will you find me an acre of land,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the sea foam and the sea sand,
Or never you’ll be a true love of mine.

“O, will you plough it with a ram’s horn,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And sow it all over with one peppercorn,
Or else you’ll be a true love of mine.

“Or will you reap it with a sickle of leather,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And tie it all up with a peacock’s feather,
Or never you’ll be a true love of mine.

“And when you have done and have finished your work,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
You can come to me for your cambric shirt,
And then you shall be a true love of mine.”

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger sing The Elfin Knight

There stands three trumpeters on yon hill
Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw,
And they blaw their trumpets sae loud and shrill
And the wind it blaws aye my plaid awa’.

Gin I’d his trumpet in my kist
And was in the lad’s airms that I like best

Gin ye would be wed wi’ me
There’s ae thing ye maun dae for me

Ye maun mak’ me a linen sark
Withoot a stitch o’ needlewark

Ye maun wash it in yon dry well
Where water never sprang nor fell

Ye maun dry’t on yon hawthorn
That hasna seen blossom since man was born

And gin I mak a sark for thee
There’s something you maun dae for me

My faither has an acre o’ land
Ye maun ploo it wi’ your ae hand

Ye maun sow it wantin’ corn
And roll it wi’ a sheep’s shank bone

Ye maun shear it wi’ a scythe o’ leather
And bind it wi’ a peacock’s feather

Ye maun stook it in the sea
And bring the wheat sheaf dry tae me

And gin you wark noo all this wark
Come to me and you’ll get your sark

Tony Wales sings Sing Ivy

My father, he gave me an acre of ground.
Sing Ivy, sing Ivy;
My father, he gave me an acre of ground,
Singing allegro-whistling Ivy.

I ploughed it with a ram’s horn.

I sowed it with some pepper corn.

ut it with my pen knife.

I thrashed it with a rat’s tail.

I carried it away on a mouse’s back,

I measured it up by thimblefull,

And money came back by sackfuls.

Shirley Collins sings Scarborough Fair

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once he was a true love of mine.

Tell him to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without a seam or needlework,
And he shall be a true love of mine.

Tell him to wash it in yonder dry well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Where water ne’er sprang nor drop of rain fell,
And he shall be a true love of mine.

Tell him to hang it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
And he shall be a true love of mine.

Oh can you find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the sea foam and the sea sand,
And you shall be a true love of mine.

Sara Cleveland sings Every Rose Grows Merry in Time

As I was a-walking by the seashore,
Every rose grows merry in time,
I met there a maiden I’d ne’er seen before,
And I said, “Will you be a true lover of mine?”

“If you are to be a true lover of mine,
Every rose grows merry in time,
You must make me a shirt without needle or twine,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“You must wash it in an old dry wall,
Every rose grows merry in time,
Where never a drop of water it fell,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“You must dry it on an old buckthorn,
Every rose grows merry in time,
That never has blossomed since Adam was born,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“You must iron it with an old flat rock,
Every rose grows merry in time,
One ne’er cold or one ne’er hot,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“Now you have asked me questions three,
Every rose grows merry in time,
Now you must do the same thing for me,
And then I will be a true lover of thine.”

“You must buy me an acre of dry land,
Every rose grows merry in time,
Between the seashore and the seasand,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“You must plow it with an old cow’s horn,
Every rose grows merry in time,
And sow it all over with one grain of corn,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“Yuu must reap it with a strap of leather,
Every rose grows merry in time,
And bind it all up with a peacock’s feather,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“You must thresh it out against the wall,
Every rose grows merry in time,
And stack it all up with a cobbler’s awl,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.

“And when you are done and finished your work,
Every rose grows merry in time,
Then come to me and I’ll make your darn shirt,
And then you will be a true lover of mine.”

Martin Carthy sings Scarborough Fair on Martin Carthy

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without no seam nor needlework,
And 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,
And then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to plough it with a lamb’s horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And to sow it all o’er with one peppercorn,
And 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 to thresh it all out with a bunch of heather,
And then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.

Liz Jefferies sings Rosemary Lane

As you will go down Rosemary Lane,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, you’ll pick me out the finest girl there,
And I will make her a true lover of mine.

Oh, tell her to get me a camberic shirt,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
To be done without needle or needle’s work,
And then she will be a true lover of mine.

And tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Where water ne’er sprung nor rain never fall,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

And tell her to dry it on yonder sharp thorn,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
For one of her rose since Adam was born,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

When she is finished all of her work,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, tell her I’ll got her camberic shirt,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

And as you will go down Rosemary Lane,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, you’ll pick me out the finest boy there,
And I will make him a true lover of mine.

Tell him to get me an acre of land,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Between the salt sea and the salt-sea sand,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And sow it all over with one ben of corn,
Then he will be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to reap it with a cock’s feather,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And bind it all over with strappings of leather,
Then he will be a true lover of mine.

And tell him to drive home on a snail,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And thresh it all over with a mouse’s tail,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

And when he has finished all of his work,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, tell him to call for his camberic shirt,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

Sarah Ogan Gunning sings Cambric Shirt

Go buy for me a cambric shirt and make it without a needle or thread
And wash it out in yonder’s well where well never sprung and rain never fell.
And hang it up on yonder’s thorn where thorn never growed and root never sprung.
And every grove go merry by time and you shall be a damsel of mine.

Now you have asked me questions three and I will ask a few of thee
Go buy for me an acre of land between the sea and the sea sand
Plow it all up with an old buck’s horn and sow it all down with culpepper corn
And reap it all up with a peafowl feather and tie it all up in an old stirrup leather.

And when you get your day’s work down, come and get your cambric shirt.
And every grove go merry by time and you shall be a true lover of mine.

Nancy Kerr sings Whittingham Fair

Are you going to Whittingham* Fair?
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was a true lover of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any stitches or needlework,
Then she’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Where water ne’er sprung nor a drop of rain fell,
Then she’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to hang it on yonder thorn,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
That never bore blossom since Adam was born,
Then she’ll be a true lover of mine.

Now he has asked me questions three,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
I hope that he’ll answer as many for me,
Then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to find me an acre of land,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Betwixt the salt water and the sea sand,
Then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And sow it all over with one peppercorn,
Then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And tie it all up with a peacock’s feather,
Then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

When he has done and finished his work,
Savoury, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Well, tell him to come and tear up his shirt,
And he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Note: Nancy Kerr quite clearly sings “Whittingt-ham”—however spelled—with a ‘T’ sound, not “Whittingham”.

Elspeth Cowie sings The Laird o’ Elfin

The Laird o Elfin stauns on yon hill
Blaw, blaw, blaw winds blaw
An’ he blaws his trumpet loud an’ shrill
An’ the wind blaws aye ma plaid awa

O gin I had that horn in ma kist
An’ then be mairrit wi’ him next

Afore that I do that wi’ thee
A weel sew’d sark ye maun sew tae me

An’ ye maun sew it needle thread free
Aye a weel sew’d sark ye maun sew tae me

Afore that I do that tae thee
A’ll gie ye some wark tae dae me

I hiv a little wee acre o’ lan’
Atween the salt sea an’ the sand

An’ ye maun ploo it wi’ your bugle horn
An’ ye maun sew it wi’ Indian corn

An’ ye maun cut it wi’ your pen-knife
An’ bind it up jist as yer life

An’ ye maun thrash it in your shee sole
An’ ye maun riddle it in yonder moose-hole

An’ ye maun winny it in yer nieves
An’ ye maun seck it in yer gloves

An’ ye maun stook it oan the sea
An’ ae dry sheaf ye maun bring tae me

Robin Redbreast an’ the wran
They sail bring me my corn hame

An’ when ye hiv daen a’ this wark
Cam ye tae me an’ ye’ll get yer sark

Alasdair Roberts and Mairi Morrison sing The Tri-Coloured House

Were you ever down at the tri-coloured house
Where every rose grows merry and fine
It’s there you will meet with a neat bonny lass
Will you tell her she’ll be a true love of mine?

You must make for me a cambric shirt
Where every rose grows merry and fine
Without one stitch of your own needlework
Before you can be a true love of mine

You must wash it all over in yonder well
Where every rose grows merry and fine
Where water ne’er flowed nor dew ever fell
And then you will be a true love of mine

Well, it’s questions three you have put to me
Where every rose grows merry and fine
But twice as many you must answer me
Before you can be a true love of mine

You must plough for me an acre of land
Where every rose grows merry and fine
Between the salt water and the sea strand
And then you will be a true love of mine

You must plough it all up with a wild ram s horn
Where every rose grows merry and fine
And sow it all over with one peppercorn
And then you will be a true love of mine

You must reap it with a wild goose feather
Where every rose grows merry and fine
And bind it all up with the sting of an adder
And then you will be a true love of mine

You must build it up on yonder sea
Where every rose grows merry and fine
And bring in the last sheaf dry unto me
And then you will be a true love of mine

You must thresh it all on yon castle wall
Where every rose grows merry and fine
And mind on your life don’t let one pickle fall
And then you will be a true love of mine

And when you have done and finished your work
Where every rose grows merry and fine
You may call upon me for your cambric shirt
And then you will be a true love of mine

An falbh thu learn a’ ribhinn og?
No ’n tèid thu learn thar saile?
Gu ’m faic thu ann gach nì gu d‘ mhiann
’S an eilean shiar a dh’ fh˚ag mi

[Will you go with me my beautiful young lady
Or will you come with me across salt-water
So that you can see your every desire
In the western isle that I left?]

Bellowhead sing Rosemary Lane

If you will go down to Rosemary Lane,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, you’ll pick me out the finest girl there,
And I will make her a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
To be done without needle or needlework,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

And tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Where water ne’er sprung and rain never fell,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to dry it on yonder green thorn,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Where bloom never grew since Adam was born,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

And when she has finished all of her work,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, tell her I’ll call for my cambric shirt,
Then she will be a true lover of mine.

If you will go down to Rosemary Lane,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Oh, you’ll pick me out the finest boy there,
And I will make him a true love of mine.

Tell him to get me an acre of land,
Where very rose grows merry and fine,
Between the salt sea and the salt-sea strand,
Then he will be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn,
Where very rose grows merry and fine,
And sow it all over with one grain of corn,
And then he will be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to reap it with a cock’s feather,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
And bind it all over with strappings of leather,
Then he will be a true lover of mine.

And tell him to draw it home on a snail,
Where every rose grows merry and fine,
Thresh it all over with an ox’s tail,
Then he will be a true lover of mine.

Every rose grows merry and fine

Kim Edgar sings The Elfin Knight

The Elfin Knight stands on yon hill
Ba, ba, ba lily ba,
And he blows his horn baith loud and shrill,
And the wind has blown my plaid awa’.

If I had yon horn in my kist,
Ba, ba, ba lily ba,
And were in the lad’s arms that I love best
And the wind would blow my plaid awa’.

Gin ye would be wed tae me,
Ba, ba, ba lily ba,
There’s ae thing ye maun to me dee,
And the wind shall blow my plaid awa’.

I maun hae a fine linen sark,
Ba, ba, ba lily ba,
Withoot a stitch o’ needlework,
And the wind shall blow my plaid awa’.

Ye maun wash it in yonder well
Where water never sprang nor fell

Ye maun dry it upon a thorn
That hasna bloomed since man was born

Gin I mak a sark for thee
There’s something you maun dee for me

My father has an acre o’ land
And ye maun ploo it wi’ your hand

Ye maun sow it wantin’ corn
And roll it all wi’ a sheep’s shank bone

Ye maun stook it in the sea
And bring the wheat sheaf dry to me

When you’ve done and finished your work
You’ll come to me, love, and get your sark

Blow winds, blow …

Daria Kulesh sings Lovers’ Task

Go and tell him to find me an acre of land
Setherwood, sale, rosemary and thyme
Between the salt water and the land side
Then he shall he a true lover of mine

Go and tell her to sew me a cambric shirt
Setherwood, sale, rosemary and thyme
Without any needle or needlework
Then he shall he a true lover of mine

Go and tell him to plough with a plough o fold leather
And hoe it all down with a pea fowl’s feather

Go and tell her to wash it in yonder well
Where never the water of rain ever fell

Go and tell him to plant with one grain of corn
And reap it all down with an old ram’s horn

Go and tell her to hang it on yonder thorn
Which never bore fruit since Adam was born

Martin Carthy sings Scarborough Fair on Anchor

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to a lass who lives there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any seam and no needlework,
And then she’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the sea and the salt sea strand,
And then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to plough it with a lamb’s horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And to sow it all over with one peppercorn,
And then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And to thrash out with a peacock’s feather,
And then he’ll be a true lover of mine.

When you have done and you’ve finished your work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
You can come to me for your cambric shirt,
For then you’ll be a true lover of mine.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to a lass who lives there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.

Note: Martin sings “peacock’s feather” on the Anchor album, but “skin of an adder” in subsequent live performances.

Acknowledgements

Martin Carthy’s first version transcribed by Garry Gillard with corrections from Kira White. His second version was transcribed by Jon Wilks. Thanks to all of you!