A 45-day event starting on August, 15, the Scarborough Fair was a trade meeting and a festival of music and goods in the Mediaeval town of Scarborough, England.

The song with the same name tells a story of a man challenged by his lover with a series of hard tasks, like doing a shirt without a seam and wash it in a dry well. The prize for such impossible tasks would be taking her love back.

The theme of impossible tasks given by a courted lover is common in Mediaeval music and literature.

On video, british actress and singer Amy Nuttall sings Scarborough Fair.

(Image: Scarborough Castle)

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
He once was a true love of mine.
Tell him to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without no seam nor needle work,
Then he’ll be a true love of mine.
Tell him to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
Then he’ll be a true love of mine.
Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather,
Then he’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,
He once was a true love of mine.

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