提前給譚裏的女神們獻禮，不管你是18， 28， 38， 48， 58 還是68， 78， 88，永遠都是女神的你們快樂！
今天說說一首歌詞:
Unrequited love or true love in Scarborough fair?
Scarborough was famous because of the Scarborough fair. There are three towns of Scarborough in English-spoken country: one in Ontario, Canada; one in Marine, USA, and the third one on the coastline of Atlantic, England. Obviously, the story in Scarborough fair happened at the Scarborough in England.
Scarborough fair is a traditional English folk song from the Middle Ages. The music of the folk song is characterized by extensive harmonies and rising melodic lines. The purpose of the folk song was to develop a sensitive setting. The song opens with acute melancholy, then turns into a wonderful association of smooth harmonies and counter-melodies.
The original author for the lyrics was unknow due to generations of oral passage. The popularization of Scarborough fair was due to two American Rock and Roll stars, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, who was introduced to the piece by a British singer, Martin Cathy. The song was revised and interpolated in counterpoint an earlier song of Simon’s, “The Side of a Hill”, and named “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”. Cathy criticized Simon for no credit being given to him. Simon explained later in an interview that they had reached an agreement with the publisher but was unaware that Cathy had got nothing. However, they eventually solved the conflict and performed on stage together. After being included in the soundtrack of “The Graduate”, the song reached the peak of its popularity when it was made a single in 1968.
Most native English speakers are content with the melody and a mix of traditional romantic symbolism and anti-war sentiment of Scarbrough fair. It is generally regarded that the lyris conveys a perfect medieval unrequited love story. On the contrary, rarely did someone spend time deconstructing and interpreting the meaning and story behind the lyrics.
When I first encountered Scarborough fair by Sarah, I was fascinated by the melody and her voice. From the lyrics, all I caught were Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and a true love of mine. Several days ago, I heard the music of Scarborough fair, and was for sure indulged in its melody again. The music made my heart sunken and tears in my eyes, and thus I paid more attention to the lyrics itself.
Currently, there are two versions of lyrics: One version by Sarah and another by Simon. But in Sarah’s version, “She” was replaced by “He”.
Scarborough fair by Sarah Brightman
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She (He) once was a true love of mine
Tell her (him) to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without no seams nor needle work
Then she'll be a true love of mine
[Have her wash it in yonder dry well
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Where ne'er a drop of water e'er fell
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 salt water and the sea strands
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
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
Scarborough Fair/Canticle Lyrics by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
[Verse 1]
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
[Verse 2]
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
[On the side of a hill, in the deep forest green]
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
[Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested ground]
Without no seams nor needle work
[Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain]
Then she'll be a true love of mine
[Sleeps unaware of the clarion call]
[Verse 3]
Tell her to find me an acre of land
[On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves]
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
[Washes the grave with silvery tears]
Between the salt water and the sea strands
[A soldier cleans and polishes a gun]
Then she'll be a true love of mine
[Verse 4]
Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather
[War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions]
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
[Generals order their soldiers to kill]
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
[And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten]
Then she'll be a true love of mine
[Verse 5]
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
I read carefully and tried to fully understand the lyrics but some questions arose in my mind:
1: Why does a man ask someone else to take message to his former true love? Why doesn’t he go to the fair and chat with her?
2: If she is a former true love, why does he make 4 requests for his love to accomplish?
3, and if she can finish these favors for him, then she will once more be his true love. What a business-man! What he did was obviously contradictory to the principles of TRUE love.
4: The four requests are: make a cambric shirt; find an acre of land, reap the land and gather it all in a bunch. These four requests appear simple, but actually are hard to finish 400-600 hundred years ago: Cambric shirt needs to be seamless and no needlework; an acre of land between sea and beach; reap the land with a sickle made of leather; and gather all the crops of an acre into a bunch of heather: gather all crops in one bunch may be difficult, into a bunch tied by heather would be impossible, as Heather was such a small and delicate shrub!
5: in other versions there were even more missions such as washing the shirt in a dry well, ploughing the land with a horn of ram.
6. Why a man is asking such impossible requests for his true love to accomplish? Does he really want her once more to be his true love or just find good excuses to breakup?
7. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme appear in all the 5 verses, what do the four herbs really imply in this song?
Herbs have been cultivated for hundreds of years for many purposes, from flavoring meals to medical preparations. Historically, herbs were the primary source of medical treatments and they have been given symbolic meaning. Parsley was a symbol of evil and sorcery. Sage is thought to bring the blessings of a long life and possible immortality. Rosemary is a great element of love and relationships. Thyme is of an ethereal significance, believed to get you in touch with fantastic creatures and apparitions. The four herbs are ingredients for a love potion used by witches in medieval times.
With the understanding of above herbs, I believe the repeated presences of Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme in all the verses are suggestive, in order to emphasize and serve as a hint or a key measure to accomplish the seemingly impossible requests. To make a love potion or a red-pill may be the solution. The former lover may be able to finish the requests with the help of love potion by imagination of taking the pills.
Back to the first question, I agree with the assumption that the original author should be a soldier or warrior wounded and be dying. He knew he never would have his true love again, but he was very thoughtful and didn't want to sadden her by directly exposing the dead message to his lover. Instead, he came up with a story and gave her the expectation that she would be his true love once more if she could finish his four requests. At the same time, she was given the hint that she could be with her true love again with the help of love potion, red-pill, or imagination. Given this, the love in Scarborough fair is a thoughtful true love at spiritual level, but not an unrequited love at earth level.
True love would always be true love, no matter when, where, who and how.
