SUPER COOL!| FIRST TIME HEARING Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair REACTION
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- Опубликовано: 3 фев 2023
- SUPER COOL!| FIRST TIME HEARING Simon And Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair REACTION
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Welcome to Rob Squad Reactions This is a music reaction channel. My passion is being a content creator, and providing my audience with unique, funny, and never before seen reaction videos. I have come to grow a love for all types of music from my beloved rap to heavy metal and I want to share that love with all of you. Being a content creator is my passion and it brings me so much joy and being able to share my passion and joy with all of you and grow as a community is an amazing feeling. In addition to reacting to all different types of music, I am also a a husband to my amazing wife Amber and a dad to 3 amazing kids Bria, Kiya and Luca.We here to try and make a change in this world starting with something that brings us all together MUSIC!!
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You nailed it. "Scarborough Fair" is a medieval English folk song. The counter-melody, "Canticle" is a reworking of lyrics Simon wrote for a 1963 anti-war protest song. Believe it or not, there are only 3 instruments on this recording - acoustic guitar, bass, and harpsichord, which is a keyboard instrument that was popular in the 18th century.
There was definitely a bell like sounding instrument, whether a xylophone or a celeste or chimes also, it can be heard playing the same four note figure again and again. In the middle before the whole thing repeated itself there was either a flute or recorder.
What about the flute/recorder that comes in about 4:30 then? I think you've got your facts wrong.
@@narabdela this is the first time I’ve ever heard those instruments in this song.
@@narabdela I believe those were added in the soundtrack for the movie..."The Graduate"...
The flute is not on the the album that had the song on it.
@wyomarine The anti-war song doesn't have to have been about Vietnam. It's definitely about war though.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but the words "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" refer to four herbs that - to the medieval mind had deeper meanings, and lovers, etc would often leave various herbs out to leave messages. These four meant the following: Parsley was comfort, sage was strength, rosemary was love, and thyme was courage.
This is such a beautiful song, performed flawlessly.
Good, I was looking for someone to comment on herbs and their symbolism. I do keep seeing them as representing slightly different things over time and to different peoples, but glad you said it.
They are also additives that make a meal (or relationship) more palatable.
I was thinking it was more that these were often the herbs used for embalming the dead in medieval times. So, juxtaposed with the war lyrics, it's more of a "I have to go to this pointless war. If I die, please take care of me".
Thanks Taun I never knew that!
I know it makes a perfect pork sausage seasoning combination.
This song is of a girl in Scarborough who broke his heart, and the only way he’ll accept her back is if she completes these impossible tasks. And this actual song was written in like the 12th century “medieval times” and had like 13 verses.
Wow. I never knew these things
Yes and if I'm not mistaken, the "Fair" is not like most people today would think. It was more of a day of trade where ships would come in from many different places with a lot of buying and selling, trading etc.
It's the Harpsichord that makes it sound medieval...
Beautiful song.
Ironically, more commonly thought of as a baroque instrument, though it was featured in renaissance music and (possibly?) very late medieval.
It sounds medieval because that's when it was written, using a scale called the Dorian mode, also a common musical convention. The artistry of this song is magnificent. A little disappointed in the young man's lack of appreciation.
From wikiepdia "Scarborough Fair" (Child 2, Roud 12) is a traditional English ballad.[1] The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The "Scarborough/Whittingham Fair" variant was most common in Yorkshire and Northumbria, where it was sung to various melodies, often using Dorian mode, with refrains resembling "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine."[2] It appears in Traditional Tunes by Frank Kidson published in 1891, who claims to have collected it from Whitby.
It was an actual fair that started in 1253. In England. Corona stopped it in 2020, and it hasn't resumed since.
Thank you
Woof, that's news and no mistake!
@@oreally8605 Damn. So many plagues, and only one stopped it.
@@oreally8605 From what I've read, it's resuming this year.
It is an ancient English folk song. You guys got it!
My high school prom song 1971
Since 1253. In England. The fair stopped in 2020 because of corona. It hasn't resumed it's 770 year old history since.
@@oreally8605 All part of the destroying established culture at every opportunity, by the Globalists.
Plus a war protest song alongside it by Paul.
*_Ancient_* England was still in the Iron Age during the Roman Conquest, and this song certainly didn't come from back then. There wasn't even an _England,_ much less an English language back then. People spoke various forms of Gaelic and Germanic languages. The lyrics for this song were first collected in the 18th century, the references to _Scarborough Fair_ and the herbs in the 19th century, and the melody you hear on that part of it was first recorded in 1947 by Mark Anderson.
This is a medieval song. In medieval times, the herbs mentioned in the song represented virtues that were important to the lyrics. Parsley was comfort, sage was strength, rosemary was love, and thyme was courage.
I'm so darned proud of you two! The growth of this channel is incredible and it's because you give the people what they want! Here since the early days!
Hear, hear!
@@carltonbakerii8274 my favourite reactors for sure.
You may be right, but, actually, to give the people what they want is not always good or...wise !
@@giuliogrifi7739 Serf.
@@giuliogrifi7739 It's just a motto on their shows. Nothing more.
Fun fact:
This song was featured on the soundtrack to the classic movie, "The Graduate".
Oh man The Graduate was the best movie. Love it then and now.
Great film.
"Oh no, it's completely baked."
@@OneEyedJack1970 aahhhh man*****
@@marymays8846 That's my favorite line from the movie.
This song was released at a time when the news every night listed the number of casualties in the Vietnam War for the day, usually accompanied by footage of the latest offensive taking place there. It truly was a time of contrasts, where men and women half a world away fought for something “they’d long ago forgotten.” This made this song such a deeply moving song for our times.
Yes , the Vietnam war for breakfast , lunch , & dinner on tv. I was there .
We sang this in our middle school chorus class, and it was glorious. I’m now 55 and thinking “That was kinda dark for pre-teens”.
After watching you guys for the past six months, and not knowing your precise ages, I am convinced nonetheless that Amber may have been born 35 to 40 years too late. She definitely has that hippie chick vibe and I can easily picture her back in “our day” with her sun dress and sandals, flowers in her hair and love beads around her neck running through fields of daisies and swaying gently to the music of our lives being played. Sorry you weren’t there to live it but it’s fun watching you live it vicariously now.
I think she should dress up "hippie" for us one day and play some of our 60s psychedelic music. Maybe 5th Dimension.
@@randysandford4033 I’m thinking maybe I Love The Flower Girl by the Cowsills.
@@randysandford4033 on a recent Halloween show she did just that!
I assume she's early 40's so born about 20 years too late.
Definitely.
This is my absolute favorite Simon & Garfunkel song - I'm so glad you chose it. Their voices blend so beautifully in it. You identified it correctly - it is an Old English folk ballad from the Middle Ages. There are 2 theories about its subject. Some believe the singer is giving a former lover a list of tasks to perform in order to "be a true love of mine". The herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme - were ingredients associated with love potions & love charms during the Medieval period. Others feel the singer is dying and the requests he is making are instructions for his embalming & funeral - as the deceased's loved ones would be the ones preparing the body for burial. In this case, the herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme- were used in embalming at the time. Simon & Garfunkel were introduced to the song by English folk singer, Marty Cathy. They overlaid the traditional lyrics with the lyrics of another song they had written, "Canticle" - about the destructiveness of war. Both theories fit with S & G's version as several young men of their generation were going to war, leaving behind sweethearts, with too many of these young soldiers only returning home in flag-draped caskets. The addition of these lyrics made it a popular anti-war anthem in the early days of the Vietnam War. It is truly a haunting and ethereal song.
Those herbs were also used in embalming!? 😲 I looked it up years ago and, the spices were said to have other 'mystical' effects upon people, as I read. --I cannot recall what those properties were said to be at this time though.. 😞 You say "love charms and love potions"? --Sounds good to me! 🙂
@@chivalryalive Mostly to block the smell of decomposition. Rosemary has astringent properties that may have slightly slowed the process.
Mine too.
Amazing information
Martin Carthy.
As unusual as this sounded to y'all, this 1966 cover of a centuries-old traditional English tune, combined with their own "Canticle," was one of their signature songs, maybe their best known one after "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It was very popular even into the seventies and everyone seemed to love it. It still gives me chills and sometimes brings a tear to my eye even today. It was cool to see Amber responding to the harpsichord and recorder.
This is actually two songs melded together in a perfect harmony. The title is actually Scarborough Fair / Canticle, the first being based on medieval hit from the Middle Ages and the second and original Paul Simon piece about world peace. ✌️
This is not from the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were from late 5th to the late 15th centuries. Many of the lyrics in this song can be traced back to the Scottish Ballad "The Elfin Knight" from 1670. That's "Clearly" After the Middle Ages. Know the topic before you comment on it, Dummy.
The interesting thing about this song is the point/counterpoint of the first voice (the top lyric) with its story of unrequited love and the 2nd voice (bottom lyric) which is telling the story of a soldier who was killed and is now buried on the hill. Now recall that this was released in 1964 - the height of the Vietnam war, and put the two things together. It's beautiful, yet sad and a little bit spooky.
"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" is another good one. Gives me chills.
Active US involvement in fighting the Vietnam War didn't begin until late 1964, and the album this was on was released in 1966. It was released as a single in 1968.
The line “she was once a true love of mine” takes on a very different meaning after the lines on war. I see them initially as wistful, but late in the song as looking back through a dark veil, of trauma, maybe death.
It is one of the most recognizable soundtrack songs from *"The Graduate" 1968.*
First US troops were sent into battle in Viet Nam on March 8, 1965, so 1964 was certainly not the height of the war. Those of us who were more than children back then remember well that the turmoil in America started on October 21, 1967 when the very first anti-war demonstration took place in Washington D.C. The Pentagon was breached in a full scale riot with about 50,000 protestors taking part.
This is a huge hit for them and it was played constantly on the radio I still know all the words! Beautiful lyrics very mellow big hit for Simon and Garfunkel❤
If you get a chance, listen to Dangling Conversation. Same lp as this beautiful song but the lyrics are perfect. Commentary on couples who are not in love
Folk music was still really influential in popular music in the mid to late 1960s, and S & G embodied the best of it with this song. I always heard a basic Irish folk ballad in this and the obvious medieval influences.
The full name of the song is Scarborough Fair / Canticle. As others have mentioned, the song originated as an old English ballad and that is covered by the lyrics that mentioned Scarborough Fair, the list of spices, and the various tasks the singer is asking his love to do. The Canticle parts are the other lyrics, which are actually from a completely different Paul Simon song called "The Side of the Hill" and are sung in what's called counterpoint to the 1st set of lyrics. I'm no musician so my understanding of these terms is vague. But I do know I love the way it sounds. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on the song.
"In London in 1965, Paul Simon learned the song from Martin Carthy,[28][29] who had picked up the song from the songbook by MacColl and Seeger[30] and included it on his eponymous 1965 album. Simon & Garfunkel set it in counterpoint with "Canticle", a reworking of the lyrics from Simon's 1963 anti-war song "The Side of a Hill",[31] set to a new melody composed mainly by Art Garfunkel.[30][32] "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" appeared as the lead track on the 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and was released as a single after it had been featured on the soundtrack to The Graduate in 1968.[30] The copyright credited only Simon and Garfunkel as the authors, which upset Carthy, who felt that the "traditional" source should have been credited.[30] The rift persisted until Simon invited Carthy to perform the song with him as a duet at a London concert in 2000.[30] Simon performed the song with the Muppets when he guest-starred on The Muppet Show.
Before Simon learned the song, Bob Dylan had borrowed the melody and several lines from Carthy's arrangement to create his song "Girl from the North Country",[33] which is featured on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), Nashville Skyline (1969) (with Johnny Cash), Real Live (1984) and The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (1993)."
Thanks, awesome info.
Dunno how I've never heard of it before(maybe I've just not dived deep enough into the Repertoire), but Looked up & listened to "The Side of a Hill" just now Thanks:}
That 'counterpoint' makes this song absolutely perfect....amazing....
My generation was introduced to this song in the movie The Graduate and it is tremendous
This was playing in my car and my ten year old grandaughter heard them for the first time and said they sound like angels singing.
That instrument is a harpsichord and really gave it that medieval sound.
Go back and listen to this again. You kind of need to listen to both parts separately and then listen a third time to see how they work together.
We aren’t going as far back as medieval times, think maybe the time of the Seven Years War or American Revolution. This is the pre-industrial Revolution world.
So in the dominant part, a guy asks his to make him a shirt or tunic. Simple woven fabric, no fancy seams, just a labor of love. And they dream about that little farm where they can live together in peace. There is only one little problem.
The second voice is that of a soldier who sleeps on cold ground away from his love. We know he is British because of the red coats (scarlet battalions). He doesn’t know why he is fighting and his future will probably be a graveyard on a hillside.
This song was released when the Vietnam War was raging. On one hand it is a love song but when you put the pieces together it is a powerful anti-war song.
Great take on this song and the times it was recorded in. Simon & Garfunkel represented the American English-traditional folk music revival (sometime called Scots-Irish plainsong) that shoe-horned-in between Beatlemania and John Sebastian/Buffalo Springfield folk-rock. They themselves were the younger generation of acts like Peter, Paul & Mary and Brothers Four and before them The Weavers featuring Pete Seeger
The problem is, all the things he asks his former love to do are impossible. You can't make a shirt without seams. You can't reap grain with a sickle of leather or gather it in heather. You can't find land between the sea and the shore. He's basically saying, no, I will *NEVER* get back together with you.
@@sourisvoleur4854 I had always heard the line as "sickle of lead", as in it would be too soft/poison the land... but apparently I've misheard that as the official lyrics to this version do say "sickle of leather".
Scarborough Fair," popularized in the United States by the 1960s singer-songwriting duo Simon & Garfunkel, is an English folk song about a market fair that took place in the town of Scarborough in Yorkshire during medieval times.
That's really not what the song is about. It is about the young man's death.
If you have not reacted to their song called "America" you should put it in your list for sure! And Amber's inner flower child will love "The 59th Street Bridge Song"!!
Amber is in her element.....two stories at one time and beautiful vocals and instrumentation.
The beauty of coming of age in the sixties and early seventies was the wde array of music we were exposed to. We didn't have play lists and we couldn't carry our records and record player around. What we did have was AM radio, and the DJs were our friends. We listened to (and danced to) all kinds of music...country, rock, instrumental...something for everyone.
This is the best way to explain our time as any. A couple of days ago I heard a younger (even younger than Jay & Amber, BTW ♥) reactor ask -- if there was no internet, how did new artists get heard. It was the DJ's. They would have been their best friends. "Word of mouth" was also used, I guess, but probably not as effective, though. I'd never heard of something called "playlists" but we all had our own favorites, of course. We all had some singles (45's) and 33 lp albums to create our Playlist of music to listen to at home or at a friend's place. And we did -- I remember taking some 45's or an album or two to a friend's place for a party or two or the years when I was a teenager in the 60's. And they would return the favor. Of course, I only had a little turntable to play my stuff on. It was my parents who had a "stereo" so if I wanted to play my music, it had to be when my parents weren't using theirs. And they played very different music than I did. Naturally. Anyway, if we wanted to listen to music much, there was the radio and there was only AM, FM was not a thing (as we say nowadays)! 😂
The next time you listen to this, try to catch the lyrics to both levels: Simon and Garfunkel reel you in the the delicacy and the beauty, but the message of both songs is harsh and sad. That's one of the reasons this stays with you. This duo writes songs with lyrics you have to pay attention to as well as music that is mesmerizing.
I am shocked that Amber didn't pick up on the second set of lyrics even after two listens. But it's so easy to be entranced by Art's angelic vocals and the gentle folk lyrics that you miss Paul's darker lyrics about impending war that will shatter the peace and beauty of the main part. Such a brilliant composition made even better by the almost subliminal echoes of war. Great song, great artists, great composition, great reactors, what more do want?
Honestly? I'm 42, and I've heard this song hundreds of times. But, I didn't catch the darkness of the second set of lyrics until last year when I really read the lyrics in full.
@@goldilox369 I’m 61 and I’ve just recently learned about them with some other reaction videos. We didn’t have the album, which I assume had the lyrics. We just listened when it came on the radio and did our best to follow along. No pause, no rewind. It was pretty common to not really understand the lyrics, because of my limited vocabulary or limited understanding of life and the world at large. I’m learning the real lyrics to a number of songs I grew up with. In some cases I like my inaccurate version better - but not this time. Sad but hauntingly beautiful song.
I grew up with the dual but did not have the album. I had NO IDEA until you pointed it out that there were anti-war lines in the background. I wonder how many of my peers knew.
Kind of reminds of me of their 7 O'clock News / Silent Night, although that one is a little more in your face.
Now that you mention it, it makes me think a bit of Rimbaud's poem "Le dormeur du val" (The Sleeper in the Valley). It describes a beautiful, sunny valley wit a river and flowers, and there's a soldier sleeping there but something progressively starts sounding a bit wrong. The last sentence is "He has two red holes in his right side" (something like that, I'm a native French speaker and don't know the literary English translation). It goes from very contemplative to shocking when you read that last sentence, and the feeling I get from this song is a bit similar.
Movie recommendation: The Graduate. From the late sixties - one of the most iconic films of the period. Heck, one of the most iconic films of all time. Made a star of Dustin Hoffman. Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack. (Including Scarborough Fair.)
The story of this song is sung from the perspective of a soldier who was killed in battle....he asks for all these impossible things knowing that it will remind his lover of him now that he is gone and it also speaks of the futility of war.
It's still captivating after 50 years
I love the way Paul Simon weaved an old traditional English Folk Song into his own composition. Thanks for reacting.
Listen to the background lyrics. "A soldier cleans and polishes a gun" and "fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten". The meaning of the song is that while the population is going to fairs and dancing they are ignoring the killing going on in Vietnam.
What a classic. My parents owned this album. I grew up listening to it. This is actually the first S&F song you've reacted to from that album. I recommend "Homeward Bound", "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", and "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her".
Great suggestions! "Homeward Bound" especially 💙
Love love LOVE these harmonies! Their voices blend so beautifully! They are so wonderful. Still praying they reunite. 😌💜
I hate to say but I hope they don't reunite. Their voices at plus 80 years old will not be the same as in their prime. I look at Paul McCartney singing Yesterday recently and, even though hard to say, it was hard to listen to. I've seen The Moody Blues several times from the early 70's to the late 90's, Justin Hayward and John Lodge have always had very powerful voices but had to bring them some female vocalists to deal with the highs they used to be able to handle. The worst I heard was Crosby, Stills and Nash performing 'Silent Night' in I believe Washington I few years back. I honestly don't think that the musical talent that came out between the early 60's to the mid 70's will ever be duplicated. Just my opinion!
@@tomhayston9888 you may be right. The one exception to this that I have heard in a recent live appearance was the Tokens singing The Lion Sleeps tonight. The lead singer Jay Seigal I believe, his voice has not changed!! Amazing. But my thoughts here were about an emotional healing between Paul and Art. So much bitterness. Regrettable, so I still hope. 😌💜
@@BarbaraPryor-Smith
They need to do that "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I git a kick out of watching their earliest black & white video of it.
Happened across. The Bird.
....is a word. lol
@@user-ii4zf5iq3t the Tokens HAVE done it recently, and they sound the same!!! Seriously! And numerous people have reacted to it. Robb Squad did too I think, but not sure if it was the older version or the more recent one. So fun!! 😊
One of the few commercial songs by S&G NOT written by Paul Simon. It is an old English traditional song. Before Simon learned the song, Bob Dylan had borrowed the melody to create his song "Girl from the North Country", which is featured on 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' (1963). The lyrics of Scarborough Fair puts forward the concept of unrequited love. The yearning is felt throughout the song, creating a perfect medieval love story in the process. A young man delegates certain impossible tasks to his lover with the condition that she would have to finish those to be able to come back to him.
The Scarborough Fair part he's borrowed, but Canticle was written by Paul Simon.
Paul Simon was happy to take credit for it, though. He eventually paid back some of the royalties to the guy who taught him the song in the first place.
@@altaclipper AKA the great Martin Carthy, the elder statesman of modern English folk music
@@altaclipper not entirely correct. It was only part of the guitar arrangement that Paul Simon had used that he had heard from Martin Carthey. It wasn't Carthey's song so he was not entitled to royalties, although Paul Simon agreed on a one off settlement payment for use of the guitar arrangement when Carthey used a music publisher to sue him. It did cause a rift between the two though, not resolved until 30 odd years later when Paul Simon invited Carthey to sing the song with him on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo.
In fact Paul Simon also made very little from this song.
The sad fact is a common one - the music publisher that Carthey used to try and sue Paul Simon actually secretly acquired the rights to the song unbeknownst to Simon and Carthey. And Carthey only received half the 20k dollars settlement (the publisher keeping half).
The consequence being that said music publisher made an absolute fortune from the song while Paul Simon and Andrew Carthey made very little. A fact that Carthey acknowledges, and now, apparently he and Paul Simon get along well.
Some things I've heard; parsley, sage, romemary, and thyme are ingredients for a love potion. The speaker uses past tense "She was a true love, but I'm dying now and it is too late" The tasks are impossible -an acre of land between the sea and the shore... Green for camouflage. The war (Garfunkel was doing vietnam) was the 100 years war. If you died in year 99 you may well have forgotten the cause.
The point about the 'Scarborough Fair' part is that the tasks set are impossible, meaning that this girl he once knew can never do anything to win his love. The way it's mysteriously intertwined with the war (or anti-war) song is so great.
Yet she did them.
Impossible because he knew he would not return, hence the acre of land to rest his bones. As a veteran this song always brings me to tears for my friends who did not come home.
My mom's favorite. My whole life, if anyone mentioned parsley, sage, rosemary OR thyme she started singing. She still does it lol.
Jay & Amber, you'll love their "Sounds Of Silence", "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and "I Am A Rock" !!!
Also Paul Simon solo- "Loves Me Like A Rock", "Kodachrome" and "Late In The Evening" and many more!!!
The layering of the vocal harmonies is amazing. Dreamy and atmospheric.
I feel like I'm floating upon a cloud each time I listen to it! 😲
This is a traditional English folk song from the Middle Ages. It's a matter of unrequited love, whereby the young man gives the girl a list of impossible tasks to become his true love. She, in turn, gives HIM a list of impossible tasks (the second thread in the song).
It's a Canticle. That's why you get the "vibes." "And to fight for a cause so long ago forgotten." The song was one of several of Simon and Garfunkel's songs used in "The Graduate." Plastics Ben. Plastics. Bottom line...a song from a different time. So, so much better than now.
I turned my twin girls (now age 37) onto Simon and Garfunkel when they were super little, watching The Concert in Central Park and, of course, when they got a bit older, The Graduate. They then went on to get their complete body of work and now know far more songs and facts about the group than I ever knew. That line from the movie... "Plastics Ben... Plastics" is one of our favorite quotes! Made me smile when I read your comment!
Well, for one, I'm a bawling mess. I was always so floored by this song. Still am. Thanking God for beauty in the world.
I am 69, still rocking, and remember getting lost in the lyrics to this trippy masterpiece. I enjoy your channel. let's all keep open minds. great music is waiting to be discovered.
This is an old English folk song - remember Simon & Garfunkel were considered a folk duo when they emerged. They used the Canticle to turn it into an anti-war song. Scarborough Fair was later used in the soundtrack for The Graduate and then released as a single. It's one of those songs you can mellow out to.
One of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever written.
Just one of many beautiful songs that Simon and Garfunkel recorded.They were wonderful in every respect, fantastic melodies, clever lyrics and beautiful harmonies.Their albums were phenomenal and contributed so much to the
wonderful era of the 60's and 70's.
I'm 58 and I love this song. My HS choir practiced this many times yet never performed it in concert. Loved it since then which was late 70s early 80s; graduated HS in '82.
58? No Youngsters,please,my friend :)
Loved this song when it came out. I’ll be 60 this year and it still gets me.
@@jamessimmons1486 Great Song but only 60? No Youngsters,please,James...:)
Part of what sets Paul Simon above others is his vast knowledge of different styles. Songwriters who tap into that like Sting, Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Carole King, etc are the ones who have works that endure through the decades.
The amazing harmonies 😮
One of their best harmony songs, probably the best!! Beautiful
I wanted to know why they were singing about spices! I came to the conclusion that they can sing about anything they want to! I’ve since grown from there and definitely grew to love this song!
You always have to remember, we were sitting around smoking pot and listening to this type of music. It was perfect!
It’s an anti-war song mixed with a traditional English folk song. Simon is a genius.
Simon and Garfunkel was my absolute favorite concert of all time. A few favorites are America, The Boxer, He Was My Brother, Hazy Shade of Winter... So many!
From the movie “The Graduate” where actor Dustin Hoffman longs to be with the woman he loves in college. It’s a great scene when “Scarborough Fair” plays.
Simon and Garfunkel were childhood friends. They wrote their first song at 13. ☮🧡🎶
Simon & Garfunkel are my favorite artists on this planet (if they're terrestrial at all 😉). Their music is pure magic, what you can't assert from any newer music. This says not someone who is 80 years old and listened to it in his youth, this says a not even 20 year old boy who had already heard a lot of "modern" music. Refreshing reaction, if you want to have more information about the song check out the video by "Polyphonic". Greetings from tiny Switzerland😚
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional Medieval British folk tune about forbidden love. Simon & Garfunkle layered it with the poem/song "Canticle" which was about the Vietnam War, to fit modern times.
One of Simon and Garfunkel's most beautiful songs. It puts forth the concept of unrequited love, where the woman must perform impossible tasks to prove her love. It was featured in the movie "The Graduate" and gained popularity quickly after that.
It has a medieval feel to the melody and their blended harmonies are so rich with a unequivocally masterful blend, you feel yourself being taken away. Great reaction. Buckets of Maple Syrup love from Canada ❤️
It has a medieval feel because it's a medieval tune.
@NavvyMom Yes, I believe it originated from the 1600's. 👍✌️🎶🇨🇦
Love your comments Mary!
@Tim Gooden Thanks so much Tim.✌️👍🎶🇨🇦😊
The original had her giving him equally impossible tasks.
It is ex-lovers who can't completely leave each other behind.
It's two songs blended together, and they are opposites: one is an old folk song about love, and the other is about war:
"War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions
Generals order their soldiers to kill
And to fight for a cause they have long ago forgotten"
Paul Simon wanted to accentuate the insanity of war by juxtaposing it with a sweet, gentle, carefree love song.
I believe I hear a harpsichord (15th century) in this. Unlike a piano (which strikes strings with felt-covered hammers), the harpsichord has mechanical 'fingers' which pluck the strings. This gives it a very different sound. Great song. Great reaction.
What a classic. The overlapping harmony is exquisite.
There's another duel
Named seals and croft..the song " hummingbird" was there big hit back in the 70s....they had a lot of great songs
Yes, Yes, Yes, on Seals and Crofts. Anything of theirs.
I already know j&a reacted to summer breeze a while back
This song is my wife's and my song which we determined in 1968. It is still our song after 53 years together.
This is the perfect music for when you are really stressed out.
I don't know an existence without this song. It's always been there &, I love it.
They performed this with Andy Williams, on his show. It's, actually, a great version, enhanced by a 3rd voice.
The Andy William's Show? --I'll look that up! Thanks! 🙂
I found it! 😲 So beautiful! --Thanks for directing me to it. 🙂
First Simon & Garfunkel song I ever heard!! Back when folk music was sooo popular!!!
I thought I heard the harpsichord in my ear especially at the end. S & G were sooooo famous when I was in high school. They had #1's for a very long time. Be blessed.
Simon was on SNL 14 times over the years but I smile remembering him in a turkey suit singing Still Crazy After All These Years.
This is my *SECOND* fave song of all time!!! No 1 is Suite:Judy Blue Eyes by CSN and 3rd fave is Greensleeves
A truly incredible song. Other ones from Simon & Garfunkel you have to hit: "THE DANGLING CONVERSATION," "POEM ON THE UNDERGROUND WALL," "The Sound Of Silence," "I Am A Rock," "America," "Kathy's Song," and "Homeward Bound"
Second I Am A Rock
The song Patterns is one of the best angry/hopeless songs I have ever heard
Oh yes definitely America
I love the sound of Homeward Bound.
I thought they did Sound of Silence a while back. No?
When most people think of Simon and Garfunkel, they think of this one. One of their best and most well known.
In my first year of college back in the late '80s, my dorm mate always played Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits to fall asleep to. To this day, anything from that album carries such a heavy nostalgia for me. Thanks for the reaction, guys. Appreciated J's honest take as always!
The first album l ever bought about 50 years ago was Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. Still got it.
Sung it, played it. A staple in my life. ❤️
You would like "America" from their "Bookends " album...matter of fact, you'd like the whole album.
You have to watch "The Graduate" on your movie channel. Many of Simon and Garfunkel's songs were used in it, and to perfection. It was one of the first movies to use "found" music. And the song "Mrs. Robinson" will certainly make more sense after seeing it.
Amber slapped it immediately. Such a cool sound from the day. Simon and Had were together only a short time, their music was incredible. All man Brothers, Jessica. Thanks again.
This song is cathartic for me because it takes me to another place in time where love, beauty and tragedy consumed my life. I love the song because it makes me feel again.
I know. My heart immediately started to feel full. 🎶
Paul Simon loves to play with sounds and the two of them blend it all so well S&G no one else like them !
Great song and it's in the movie The Graduate which is excellent if you haven't seen it. The whole movie is full of Simon and Garfunkel.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but part of the point of the medieval song is that the tasks he is asking his former love to perform are impossible. Making him a shirt with no seams or needle work, finding him an acre of land between the salt water and the dry land, and then reaping it with a sickle of leather. The counterpoint is an antiwar song.
These guys were artists, no doubt about it.
Such a pretty song, and their harmonies are perfect. Love that medieval feeling to this. It is so relaxing.
Guys....This is a MASTERPIECE! Period
Strong childhood memories of S&G on the record player. I just love them. Stunning.
Oh My Lord ❤️ an Amazing, Incredible song....
The main lyrics of the first round is a love song and the counterpoint of the rondeau is a call to war. Both are wistful, beautiful melodies but it's a bit of a paradigm shift when you realize how opposite the lyrics of each part are. I know the first is a medieval melody, I'm not sure if the second is. I think combining them was genius.
It's a transcendent and beautiful song that really takes you to a different and better place, which all good music does in my view. If you haven't already I highly suggest that you watch and react to The Graduate, the 1968 coming of age film featuring a very young Dustin Hoffman, in which this and several other Simon & Garfunkel songs are featured, the most famous of which is of course Mrs. Robinson. A wonderful, touching and often funny film about a young man entering adulthood trying to figure things out and muddling through in his own unique and odd way, with the soundtrack playing an important role. It also features a brief cameo by an also very young Richard Dreyfuss.
I grew up with this song. Then I became a teenager and smoked a joint to it at exactly the right moment and it melted me. (I know that doesn't make sense but it's the best description the English language can grant me). This experience, and others like it, engaged the childlike, inquisitive part of my mind and I've been into science, philosophy and cultural history ever since. It's interesting how something as abstract as music can change the trajectory of your life.
Great lyrics. 'Homeward Bound',, 'I Am A Rock', and of course 'The Sound Of Silence' are just a few of my favorites.
This is actually a version of an old English ballad. Love it!
The sub verse tells the ancient story of a soldier who goes to war, dies, and is buried on a hillside. There is real place in England called Scarborough Fair on the coast. It is very popular even today.
Not for nothing (as someone a heck of a lot smarter than I) once told me: "music is what you make of it, and it's appeal is universal. You don't have to be able to understand the meaning (or even the words being sung), as long as it makes you FEEL. Thanks for making my evening!
Spot on, Scarborough Fair is a Medieval English folk song! This version is actually a blend of that and Canticle, which Paul wrote.
I love that ethereal medieval sound!
THE GRADUATE is a very popular film amoung the zillions of college students from the late 1960s. We were in class of 1968 & 1969. A young Dustin Hoffman plays a recent graduate who is seduced by Anne Bankroft, who plays a Cougar. Several S & G hits on the soundtrack including Scarborough Fair.
Yessss my favorite Simon & Garfunkel cut! So happy you did this one.
I work in a grocery store. Whenever somebody buys one of these herbs I start singing this song. I get every kind of reaction. Everything from "shut up and keep bagging my stuff to " wow that's really cool".
This (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme) was the first album I ever bought in 1967 when I was 9. The entire album was magical and I wore out the grooves playing it.