Pete Lashley plays 'Scarborough Fair'

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Pete Lashley plays the medieval classic Scarborough Fair. The guitar picking Pete uses here is influenced by Paul Simon's rendition of the song with Art Garfunkel in Central Park, New York in 1981.

Below is a description/history of the song:-

The fair
During late medieval times the seaside resort of Scarborough was an important venue for tradesmen from all over England. It was host to a huge 45-day trading event, starting August 15, which was exceptionally long for a fair in those times. Merchants came to it from all areas of England, Europe, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic and the Byzantine Empire. Scarborough Fair originated from a charter granted by King Henry III of England on 22 January 1253. The charter, which gave Scarborough many privileges, stated "The Burgesses and their heirs forever may have a yearly fayre in the Borough, to continue from the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary until the Feast of St Michael next following". (On the modern Roman Catholic calendar, the equivalent dates are August 15 to September 29.) Naturally, such a large occasion attracted a lot more than just tradesmen; they needed to be entertained and fed, therefore large crowds of buyers, sellers and pleasure-seekers attended the fair. Prices were determined by 'Supply and demand', with goods often being exchanged through the barter system. Records show that from 1383 Scarborough's prosperity slumped.

In the early 17th century competition from other towns' markets and fairs and increasing taxation saw further collapse of the Fair until it eventually became financially untenable. The market was revived again in the 18th century, but due to intense competition Scarborough Fair finally ended in 1788.

The traditional 'Scarborough Fair' no longer exists but a number of low-key celebrations take place every September to mark the original event. Scarborough Fair in July 2006 witnessed Medieval Jousting Competitions, hosted by English Heritage in addition to the usual attractions.


[edit] The ballad
The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she completes these tasks he will take her back. Often the song is sung as a duet, with the woman then giving her lover a series of equally impossible tasks, promising to give him his seamless shirt once he has finished.

As the versions of the ballad known under the title "Scarborough Fair" are usually limited to the exchange of these impossible tasks, many suggestions concerning the plot have been proposed, including the hypothesis that it is a song about the Plague. In fact, "Scarborough Fair" appears to derive from an older (and now obscure) Scottish ballad, The Elfin Knight (Child Ballad #2), which has been traced to 1670 and may well be earlier. In this ballad, an elf threatens to abduct a young woman to be his lover unless she can perform an impossible task ("For thou must shape a sark to me / Without any cut or heme, quoth he"); she responds with a list of tasks which he must first perform ("I have an aiker of good ley-land / Which lyeth low by yon sea-strand").

As the song spread, it was adapted, modified, and rewritten to the point that dozens of versions existed by the end of the 18th century, although only a few are typically sung nowadays. The references to "Scarborough Fair" and the refrain "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" date to nineteenth century versions, and the refrain may have been borrowed from the ballad Riddles Wisely Expounded, (Child Ballad), which has a similar plot.

(Wikipedia)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Scarborough
• Fair
• Pete
• Lashley
• Paul
• Simon
• Art
• Garfunkel
• Folk
• Medieval
• Acoustic

[locutuszombie]

Pete rules... I love this tune!

[rysiu160292]

;) zajebiscie:)

[KabaHiroshi]

Nice guitar work,fantastic!

[Hulna]

I absolutely ADORED it!!!Your voice is simply charming, it brings me to the Middle Age^^

[theblueandgolden1]

wow ur good! i luv this song! i tried 2 get it 4 my medieval fair vid!

[feeneyr1]

great music, inspiring. It really shows that the audio quality doesn't matter as much as the quality of the sound itself

[llibmahargtube]

Very nice guitar and voice!

[vippo25]

One of my all time favourite songs. Thanks for posting Pete.

[lisaaitchison]

made me cry beautiful wonderful x