Traditional · Key of Am · Public domain
Opens in the Chord Sheet Maker: transpose to your key, change chords, add strumming patterns, or print a clean copy. No account needed to start.
Scarborough Fair is a traditional English ballad whose roots go back centuries. Folk scholars connect it to a family of riddle songs in which a suitor assigns impossible tasks, a lineage that includes the old ballad The Elfin Knight, documented as far back as the 17th century. Versions of the song were collected across England in the 19th century, and the melody most people know today, in its haunting Dorian mode, was documented by collectors in Yorkshire, the county where the real Scarborough Fair was held for hundreds of years.
The famous refrain of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme has invited a lot of romantic speculation: the herbs have been read as symbols of comfort, strength, faithfulness and courage. Simon and Garfunkel made the song world famous in 1966, but their arrangement layered in an original counter-melody with its own copyrighted lyrics. This chart stays with the plain traditional verses, which are public domain and every bit as beautiful.
Played fingerstyle in a gentle 3/4, this is a wonderful introduction to modal folk accompaniment. The G major chord inside an A minor tune is what gives the song its ancient, open sound (that is the Dorian mode at work). Let the chords ring into each other and keep the tempo unhurried. If the key does not suit your voice, open it in the editor and transpose with one tap.
