Scarborough Fair | Chords + Lyrics (capo 7)
Intro
| A13sus4 | Dsus24 Dsus4/F# | Cmaj7 G/B |
||: A13sus4 | Asus2 :||
Verse 1
| A13sus4 | Asus2 | G C/E G | A13sus4 | A7sus2 |
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
| C | Am7 | C D | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
| Asus2 | C | C G/B Am7 | G C/E G | C/E G |
Remember me to one who lives there,
| A7omit3 | G C/E | G C/E G | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
she once was a true love of mine.
Verse 2
| A13sus4 | Asus2 | G C/E G | A13sus4 | A7sus2 |
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
| C | Am7 | C D | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
| Asus2 | C | C G/B Am7 | G C/E G | C/E G |
Without no seams nor needlework,
| A7omit3 | G C/E | G C/E G | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
then she’ll be a true love of mine.
Verse 3
| A13sus4 | Asus2 | G C/E G | A13sus4 | A7sus2 |
Tell her to find me an acre of land,
| C | Am7 | C D | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
| Asus2 | C | C G/B Am7 | G C/E G | C/E G |
Between salt water and the sea strands,
| A7omit3 | G C/E | G C/E G | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
then she’ll be a true love of mine.
Verse 4
| A13sus4 | Asus2 | G C/E G | A13sus4 | A7sus2 |
Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather,
| C | Am7 | C D | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
| Asus2 | C | C G/B Am7 | G C/E G | C/E G |
And gather it all in a bunch of heather,
| A7omit3 | G C/E | G C/E G | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
then she’ll be a true love of mine.
Verse 5
| A13sus4 | Asus2 | G C/E G | A13sus4 | A7sus2 |
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
| C | Am7 | C D | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
| Asus2 | C | C G/B Am7 | G C/E G | C/E G |
Remember me to one who lives there,
| A7omit3 | G C/E | G C/E G | A13sus4 | Asus2 | A13sus4 | Asus2 |
she once was a true love of mine.
Outro
| A13sus4 | Dsus24 Dsus4/F# | Cmaj7 G/B | Asus2 |
Scarborough Fair guitar lesson | Chords and TAB
Let’s start learning how to play Scarborough Fair, just like Paul Simon did on the original Simon & Garfunkel recording back in 1966.
In order to play the song perfectly at 129 BPM, we have to break the arrangement down into smaller chunks and practice these on a loop at different tempos.
Today, we do this at 100 and 110 BPM. Use the TAB loops in the playlist above for the best results.
Here’s example 1, it is what you’ll soon play as an intro and outro.
Next up, we have the main bit, this is just a two-bar loop. Here is called example 2.
For example 3, we play what you just learned, but with an added variation at the end.
In example 4, the main bit has been slightly altered with an open G string. This is done in order to change the chord to what looks like a C chord.
Example 5 contains what may be described as the world’s most common guitar chord progression. It’s the movement from a major chord, down to its relative minor. Here we think of it as a C G/B Am7. Or chord IV – I/III – II.
Finally, example 6 contains a fast hammer-on, pull-off chord lick. You may need to practice just that bar on its own for a while in order to get it right.
In the course, we next play all these examples again, although at 120 and 129 BPM.
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Scarborough Fair and Dorian
Originally, an old folklore, Scarborough Fair was made worldwide famous by Simon & Garfunkel.
The chords of Scarborough Fair take full advantage of the II chord. By using the extensions sus2, 13, and sus4, we get a clear sense of the Dorian scale ringing through.
It would be impossible to play Scarborough Fair using different chord shapes than what you see me play in the video lesson. It is the shape and the incorporated open strings that make the arrangement what it is.
Using a capo on fret 7, we think in A Dorian, but what you hear is E Dorian. You can’t change the finger-style patterns or chord shapes, as they are what give Scarborough Fair its distinctive sound.
But what you can do, is add a 2nd guitar part, doing this will enhance the first part as well as teach you more about how this song is put together.
We spend a considerable amount of time doing this in the advanced acoustic guitar course, as well as learning the original part, of course.
What Scarborough Fair’s chords do is use all kinds of intervals from the Dorian scale, maintaining the open 5th string.
To name these chords can cause all kinds of debate, after all, they are unique due to the open strings, so reading them as you would with any song doesn’t make all that much sense.
Still, what you see above is what Scarborough Fair’s chords actually are, thinking in A (remember there’s a capo on fret 7!)
As complicated as these chords may appear, what they do is explain the intervals in them. When we create a 2nd guitar part, that’s what we focus on, to still include the same extensions, just in a new key by removing the capo.
Scarborough Fair | Related pages
Scarborough Fair – 8 guitar lessons
The most difficult aspect of this Dorian-sounding composition is actually to play at the full tempo. To get there, we practice at different tempos.
Following this, we develop a 2nd guitar part, practice Dorian, as well as play and develop the vocal melody.
Go to Scarborough Fair – 8 guitar lessons.
Advanced Acoustic Songs
These songs use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.
Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, and chord, anywhere on the guitar.
Go to Advanced Acoustic Songs.
Scarborough Fair – 5 similar tunes
Simon & Garfunkel
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were a hugely successful American folk duo starting out as Tom & Jerry before they adopted their more obvious choice of stage name.
Their hits include Homeward Bound, Scarborough Fair, The Boxer, Mrs. Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and American Tune.
Go to Simon & Garfunkel.
Simon & Garfunkel on the web
