The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #25123   Message #3120334
Posted By: Brian Peters
24-Mar-11 - 08:27 AM
Thread Name: lost verse, Scarborough Fair
Subject: RE: lost verse, Scarborough Fair
Mysha,
The version that Tim and I were talking about, as collected by Sharp from Richard Hutton, is here:

Scarborough Fair, Hutton 1913

Following the links on that page will take you to other versions in abc format.

There are many variations in the lyrics, but the principal lovers' tasks themselves are pretty standard (although extra ones seem to have got added over the years). The melodies vary a lot too, although you will often find that versions collected nearby geographically are similar. This was one of the main points of Bronson's research (and of course any serious ballad student should buy all his four volumes from Camsco Music): to analyse all the known tunes for each ballad and, where possible, to group them into families so that - for instance - any resemblances between versions found on either side of the Atlantic might give a clue as to the migratory history of the ballad.