Scarborough Fair

Scarborough Fair is a very old song, according to Wikipedia dating back at least to 1670, and probably much earlier.  Here are three versions from the mid-sixties.

The first from Martin Carthy was released in 1965, on his first album:

The second,from Marianne Faithfull, was released in 1966 on the album North Country Maid:

The third, from Simon and Garfunkel, was released later the same year, and of the three is by far the best known:


2 Responses to Scarborough Fair

  1. g2-9ed9acc685824c6663c51c5b093476cc says:

    I read somewhere that Carthy taught Simon the song when S&G were on tour in the UK, and that Simon then recorded the song without giving Carthy the slightest acknowledgement of his contribution, which caused bad blood between them.

    I don’t know if that’s true or not but it does square with the rather callous persona that Simon has cultivated over the years.

    I say that as a Paul Simon fan. He’s a great musician but I suspect a bit of a jerk.


  2. Larry says:

    According to one source, “Simon & Garfunkel gave Carthy no credit on their recording for the arrangement of a traditional folk song, and Carthy accused Simon of stealing his work. Many years later, Simon settled the issue with Carthy, and in 2000 they performed together in London.” , History of the Folk Song ‘Scarborough Fair’,

    Additionally, here’s a really overdone version by Hayley Westenra of Celtic Woman:


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