Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

Starting in 1253, an annual fair for tradespeople was held in Scarborough, a seaside town in Yorkshire. The tradition lasted many centuries, and the ballad named after it goes back at least as far as the 1600s, so numerous versions and variations exist. The version Simon and Garfunkel put on their 1966 "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" album was influenced by Martin Carthy, who learned it from Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, who learned it from - let's just say it was circulating among folk performers of the 1950s. Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" is loosely based on it. The version that's tabbed out here is in the key of Am, in 3/4 time. The accompaniment consists of arpeggios (i.e. playing the individual notes of a chord, ascending or descending). This continues during the solos, so the melody is surrounded by arpeggiated notes. There is no set pattern, but the first few bars of the arrangement set the tone for this picking style.