date: 05/08/01
Ever wanted to sing Simon and Garfunkel's version of "Scarborough Fair" but couldn't figure out the words to the "Canticle" that's woven between the verses? Well, this is the kind of problem that the folks who hang out at the Mudcat Cafe are great at solving. You'll always get way more information than you thought you wanted, but you'll end up glad to find yourself in the midst of such passionate erudition.
Anyway, if visit the Mudcat Cafe and you type "Scarborough Fair" into their advanced search, you get 2 different lyrics - the newer Simon/Carthy version plus the original Child Ballad version known as "The Elfin Knight" (you did know this was a traditional song, right?). You'll also find a fascinating thread that starts with a request for the Canticle lyrics and then digresses into a learned discussion of the provenance and controversial history of the song.
But you want to know what the lyric is, right? Well the thread contributors come up with two possibilities from listening carefully over and over:
On the side of a hill in the deep forest green.
Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested brown.
Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain
Sleeps unaware of the clarion call.
On the side of a hill a sprinkling of leaves.
Washes the grave with silvery tears.
A soldier cleans and polishes a gun.
Sleeps unaware of the clarion call.
War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions.
General order their soldiers to kill.
And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten.
On the side of a hill in a deep forest green.
Tracing of starlight on snow-crested ground.
Blankets and bedclothes, the child of the mountain
Sleeps unaware of the clarion call. .....
On his pillow a sprinkling of leaves.
Washes the bower with silent tears.
A soldier stands and polishes a gun.
War fellows blazing in scarlet battalions.
Generals order their soldiers to kill.
And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten. '
Click here if you want to view the entire thread,
or simply check out the Mudcat Cafe site,
home of the Digital Tradition traditional song database (online or PC download)
and enjoy one of the best folk sites ever made.
*P.S. Independent sources vote for the first version.
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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