as stunningly beautiful rich and simple, kind and gracious speaking-from-and-about-another-time-long-past songs go then "scarborough fair" surely calls to my inner english boy. could it be any more evocative of the world of four of my favourite english authors mary webb, thomas hardy, henry williamson, and richard jeffries if it were possible?
the words and images speak from an england contained within the england that is. not gone, but secreted away.
carefully contained.
preserved if you will.
waiting.
"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 snowcrested brown)
without no 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 a sprinkling of leaves)
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
(washes the grave with silvery tears)
between the salt water and the sea strands
(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."
home.
6 comments:
Steven,
Don't you sleep? When you posted me was that at 2.45am??
I too have a hankering to see that English countryside in your idyllic picture -I am only familiar with Thomas Hardy in your list of 4.
Thanks for Scarborough Fair
Happy Days
Hi Steven, I appreciate your recent comments at WM.
Now I'm going to have to dig out my S & G album.
hi delwyn, actually sleep is a precious commodity for me these days. it's the last month of school and for teachers that's a nasty joyous crazy sad overwhelming stretch of time!
last night i slept between 11:00 and 12:30 and 3:00 and 6:00! i think i wrote on your blog earlier than that though and i'm wondering if the little dots and dashes got lost somewhere over the mediterranean or something!!!
i saw something of the idyllic england on a walking trip of dorset and then when i walked the pennine way from derbyshire to the south of scotland. places untouched - well relatively untouched. people who remembered and lived the life i have read about in books.
steven
hi willow, thanks so much for visiting! i've listened to some simon and garfunkel recently and some of it's fairly cheesy and dated but some of it steps way out of the frame of reference they were living in and is truly timeless. this beautiful old song is one of those pieces.
i'm glad you had the strength to post that entry. so many undeserving people have been targetted by the misuse of words that should be focussed on love and goodness and care.
thanks for your amazing blog!
steven
Those walks sound great, I don't know if you caught the tail end of my Nakasendo walk series form my walk in Japan?
Happy Days
hi delwyn,
the walks are like anchors for my reading of any book to do with england from a long time ago. i will be heading over to your nakasendo walk series this weekend! thanks for the invite!!
steven
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