Scarborough Fair

Now, I wonder where Tom is.

Oh, there he is.

Uh, he's put on his finest cambric shirt and Simon and Garfunkel turtleneck sweater, I see, as he follows the herby path of a famous folk ballad.

Hello, Tom.

Hello.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Remember me to one who lives there.

She was once a true love of mine.

You've probably guessed by now I'm talking about herbs today.

But before that, I thought, "What's the meaning of that song? What's happening? What's the story?" Well, it's a fairly straightforward story about unrequited love.

Former lovers, one of them is, um, going to Scarborough Fair.

Uh, the other one is certainly not, don't want to bump into him or her.

So they're giving a message, but the message is about some tasks that have to be performed before they can have a reconciliation.

And you might have guessed also that those tasks are almost difficult.

Let's look at the tasks.

Tell him to make me a cambric shirt without no seams nor needlework.

Impossible.

Have him wash it in yonder dry well where ne'er a drop of water e'er fell.

Tell him to find me an acre of land between salt water and the sea strands.

Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather and gather it all in a bunch of heather.

Oh my goodness.

If this lover gets through that, they deserve to have a reconciliation.

So what's the words mean? What, what's so special about those four herbs? Well, my guess is, and I think others feel the same, uh, uh, parsley is about j-joy.

Uh, sage is wisdom, of course, sage wisdom.

Rosemary is always for remembrance.