Scarborough Fair Scarborough, Fair

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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

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 the snow crested brown)
without on 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)

tell her to find me an acre of land
(on the side of a hill asprinkling of leaves)
parsley,sage,rosemary and thyme
(washes the grave with silvery tears)
between the salt water and the sea strand
(a soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
then she'll be a true love of mine

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

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

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

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 the snow crested brown)
without on 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)

tell her to find me an acre of land
(on the side of a hill asprinkling of leaves)
parsley,sage,rosemary and thyme
(washes the grave with silvery tears)
between the salt water and the sea strand
(a soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
then she'll be a true love of mine

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

are you going to scarborough fair
parsley,sage,rosemary and thyme
remeber me to one who lives there
she once was a true love of mine

Scarborough Fair(斯卡博洛市集)原是一首古老(大约作于十三世纪)的苏格兰民间谜歌(riddle song)。歌曲的主人是一个被情人抛弃的男人。尽管歌词充满诗意和微妙的情调，但在中世纪时期只能算是民歌，而不可能是贵族的作品。那个年代，贵族和骑士们只能远远地对一个女人在心里暗暗爱慕，而那样的倾情几乎是不可能得到回响的。Scarborough Fair就蕴涵着歌者对她的离开缘由毫无所知，或者原因过于复杂也就根本不予提及。 歌者给他的心上人安排了不可能完成的事情，意味着有时候爱情需要突破日常生活中似乎不可能的壁障才有希望。如果她能试图去做那些 不可能完成的事情，那么她只得返回到他的身边向他求救，于是爱情就有希望得到自然的展开和延续。
scarborough fair在历史上是一个从八月十五日开始延续45天的交易集市。在那个年代持续如此之长的集市是很少见的。后来这个集市逐渐冷清 衰落，现在scarborough只是一个默默无闻的小镇了。作为歌曲，scarborough fair原是一首古老(大约作于十三世纪)的苏格兰民间谜歌(riddle song)。那个年代不像现在有版权的说法，因此歌曲的作者没有能够留下姓名。这样的谜歌由漂流各地的游唱诗人(bard或sh aper)辗转传唱。因此年深月久，衍化出许多不同的歌词版本。

歌中提到四种植物－－芫荽、鼠尾草、迷迭香和百里香。按照那些相信植物疗法的人的看法，芫荽Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)具有治疗消化不良的功能。比如，据说吃菠菜的时候如果嚼一片芫荽树叶的话就能让菠菜的苦味消失，并易于消化。因此在中世纪芫荽被赋予一定的精神寓意的。鼠尾草Sage (Salvia officinalis)的象征有着数千年的历史，代表着力量。 迷迭香Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)表示忠诚，挚爱和挂念。古希腊时男人就送给自己的恋人以迷迭香来表达爱慕，今天在欧洲新娘还有在头上别上迷迭香树枝的习俗。据说迷迭香能让人敏感和谨慎，于是在古罗马当一个人面对精神压力的时候，大夫常常建议放一小袋迷迭香树叶子于枕头下面。迷迭香有时候用作比喻女性的爱，尽管有些迟缓，却强劲并持续长久。在神话传说中的中秋之夜，国王在荒野的百里香Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)丛林中与神仙们狂舞。但百里香一般象征勇气，在中世纪时骑士的盾粕暇陀兴�呐�烁��迳系陌倮锵愕耐枷瘛? 于是，垂头丧气的歌者用这四种在中世纪众所周知的植物，期望他的心上人能够用爱的温柔来消融他们之间的误会和痛苦，用毅力来度过他们分离的艰难时光，用忠诚来陪伴孤独的日子，用勇气去挑战那些不可能的事情并最终回到他的身旁。