Simon & Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair: A Folk Song Reborn

My First Encounter with Scarborough Fair

The first time I heard Simon & Garfunkel’s version of “Scarborough Fair,” it stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t just the melody — although that ancient tune is haunting enough on its own — it was the way Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel wrapped their harmonies around it like a spell. It felt less like listening to a song and more like being pulled into a dream.

As a teenager, I didn’t even know the song’s origins stretched back centuries. All I knew was that it sounded timeless.

The Roots of an Old Ballad

“Scarborough Fair” is a traditional English ballad, dating back to at least the Middle Ages. It tells the tale of impossible tasks given to a former lover — making a shirt without seams, washing it in a dry well, and so on. The song is full of symbolism, often interpreted as a conversation about love lost and the futility of reconciliation.

When Simon & Garfunkel recorded it in the mid-1960s, they weren’t just covering an old folk tune. They were reinventing it. Paul Simon had already been exposed to the song during his time in England on the folk circuit, and he and Garfunkel wove it into something entirely new.

The Canticle Twist

What makes their version truly special is the addition of “Canticle,” a counterpoint melody sung underneath the ballad. While Garfunkel leads with the traditional verses, Simon’s interwoven part delivers a modern, anti-war lyric — a poetic protest against the Vietnam War.

That juxtaposition is what gives the song its haunting quality. The old-world lament of impossible love is layered with a 20th-century lament of political conflict. Beauty and tragedy intertwined, past and present singing together.

A Fan’s Memory

I remember the first time I played “Scarborough Fair” for a friend who had never heard it. We sat in a quiet room, and as those harmonies filled the air, she just looked at me wide-eyed and whispered, “What is this?” That’s the power of Simon & Garfunkel — even if you don’t know the history, the arrangement grabs you.

It’s one of those songs you can put on late at night, lights low, and it feels like you’ve traveled somewhere else entirely. A place where old folklore and modern meaning coexist in perfect harmony.

Cultural Impact

Of course, the song reached a whole new level of fame thanks to its inclusion in the 1967 film The Graduate. Sitting alongside “The Sound of Silence,” it helped define the soundtrack of a generation that was wrestling with change, uncertainty, and the search for meaning.

Even today, when people talk about Simon & Garfunkel’s greatest moments, “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” is always near the top.

Why Scarborough Fair Still Matters

More than fifty years on, this song still feels as fresh and moving as ever. It bridges centuries of storytelling, reminding us that themes of love, loss, and human struggle are universal.

For fans like me, it’s not just a folk song — it’s a time capsule. It connects the Middle Ages to the 1960s, and the 1960s to today. And every time those harmonies soar, I feel that same chill I felt the very first time.

How to play?

Lyrics