No music lover doesn’s know “Scarborough Fair. Especially when Vietnamese version“Gian thien ly da xa” by Pham Duy musician was introduced in Vietnam, more and more fans have passionately been crazy about the song. Many of them probably surprise very much if they know the fact that the romantic love song is more than 1.000 years old. And few people have chance to experience and meditate upon different colours of the song.

Before starting the meditation, history of the song should be review.

1.

According to Wikipedia open encyclopedia, “Scarborough Fair” is originally a British folk-song. Scarborough is a crowded and busy habour city at Northwest coastline in Britain. This city was established thousand years ago when Viking Skartha Lord had decided to settle down in Scarborough. The place has become an important harbour since then.

“Scarborough Fair” was first sung by normadic singers at that time. Probably because the song was transmitted orally and sung with normadic style, the singers adjusted words and composed harmony freely. Consequently, no one knows who the first composer of the song.

In Britain, there are many variants of “Scarborough Fair” but the world knows the about it thanks to version of Paul Simon & Garfunkel which was first introduced in 1966.

When visiting Britain, Paul Simon knew the song through words and harmony of Martin Carthy musician. Paul Simon recorded the song with part of Martin Carthy’s harmony. (Click here to listen to“Scarborough Fair” presented by Paul Simon % Garfunkel)

Paul Simon & Garfunkel

2.

At that time, male lovebirds, especially in high strata, employed beautiful words of poems and songs to confide their love and adoration towards their sweethearts. If you have ever watched “Shakespeare in love” film, you will easily imagine such scene.

But the man in “Scarborough Fair” asked his lover to do many difficult things as a token of her love for him. He wishes that because she suddently abandoned him. If she wants to come back to him, she must do what he asks.

In each of passage/section of the song, the second sentence, refrain of the song, is the main meaning of the song. It mentions four plants of spices: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme. Nowadays, these plants are meaningful to … chefs only. They use the plants as spices because the plants all have aroma. However, in Medieval Age, when the song was first introduced, the plants had meaning like rose nowadays.

Parsley and sage have very special scent. Rosemary refers faith, love and memory. In Britain and some places in Europe now, brides still pin rosemary leaves on their hair in their weddings.Thyme is a symbol of bravery. The song was composed when many warriors had to go to battle field. Their hands held shields on which there are image of thyme plant embroidered by their lover or wives. Hence, thyme was employed as a symbol to show adoration to the brave knights.

Referring to the repeating image of the four plants, the man in the song wants to bear his heart out. Although the refrain mentions the four mediocre plants, its meaning is so profound.

3.

After being performed by Paul Simon & Garfunkel, “Scarborough Fair” appeared in U.S.A and then spreadall over the world. Many people try to cover the song but name of the couple singers Paul Simon & Garfunkel has been accompanied the song for a long period of time. The two singers are so famous that the name Martin Carthy is nearly forgot (that’s why there is a lawsuit about the author of the song).

Like many famous love song, “Scarborough Fair” is re-mixed as symphonies by many musician. However, in Vietnam, the most popular symphony is an anonymous work (Click here to listen to the symphony)

While “Scarborough Fair” is sungby Paul Simon & Garfunkel as a passionate and somewhat blue love song, the above symphony is soft and sounds to have a happy ending. Other symphonies, in spite of their variations, have this blue nuance. So, “Scarborough Fair” guitar solo by John Williams (from the album The guitar is the song) is worth to be consider a rare work.

If you believe in the above-mentioned anecdotal story, you will figure out a harmonious “Scarborough Fair” of the symphony and version by Paul Simon & Garfunkel. However, in the “Scarborough Fair”  by John Williams, sorrow and hear-broken agony of the man seem so visible that they can be touch. The piece of the music ends …, a clear-cut end although violin is still at high note a little bit. (Click here to listen to “Scarborough Fair” guitar solo by John Williams)

Each of singers or musicians has their own way of presenting their feelings. Being inspired by the lovely anecdote from different angles, they create their own work on basis of their own feeling. On contrary to John Williams, Sara Brightman sings the song in different way. As an opera diva, Sara Brightman usually choose music work in which she can show out her full beautiful voice when she sings pop-rock and folk songs.

• Written by Kieu Phong
• Translated by To Uyen