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 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 above. 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.
Before we get to that, 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.
In the first lesson, we do this at 100 and 110 BPM. Below, you can see example 1 in TAB. This is what you’ll soon play as an intro and outro.

There are a further five examples that you’ll end up practicing to individual loops at different tempos in the course.
Scarborough Fair’s 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.
In total, there are 8 step-by-step lessons for Scarborough Fair available. Here are links to each lesson in the course (members only):
- Step 1 – 6 loops at two slow tempos
- Step 2 – 6 loops at two fast tempos
- Step 3 – The complete song, guitar 1
- Step 4 – 2nd guitar part, 6 loops at two slow tempos
- Step 5 – 2nd guitar part, 6 loops at two faster tempos
- Step 6 – 2nd guitar, complete song
- Step 7 – Dorian, 2 master exercises & Developed vocal melody
- Step 8 – Dorian, 3 master exercises & Developed vocal melody
Scarborough Fair chords | Related pages
Five 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.
Simon & Garfunkel on the web
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 guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.