Intertwining Worlds
: The Unified Tapestry of “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”
In the realm of popular music, few songs possess the layered complexity and evocative power of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.” On the surface, it appears to be an elegant fusion of a centuries-old English folk ballad with contemporary countercultural commentary. Yet, when examined closely, the song reveals a mesmerizing interplay between two sets of lyrics — each with its own imagery, rhythm, and meaning — that together create an integrated, unified whole. This musical tapestry is further enriched by the collaborative melding of intersecting melodies and the song’s memorable use in the seminal film The Graduate (1967). In this essay, I will explore how the juxtaposition of the traditional “Scarborough Fair” verses and the modern “Canticle” lines produces a seamless narrative, analyze the song’s distinctive musical qualities, and examine the cultural impact of its cinematic placement.
This YouTube video by Virgin Rock analyzes the song as a “first listen” by a young classical musician and teacher, whose comments inspired this essay.
A Dual Narrative: Two Lyric Sets, One Unified Vision
At its core, “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” juxtaposes two distinct lyrical styles. The traditional verses evoke a centuries-old English folksong quality through their recurring refrain — “Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme” — and a series of tasks beyond the realm of possibility, such as requesting a seam-free cambric shirt or an acre of land set “between the salt water and the sea strands.” These tasks, emblematic of lost or unattainable love, rely on a language rich with symbolic references to nature and natural remedies, evoking an era when herbs carried deep cultural and medicinal significance.
In contrast, the “Canticle” lines, interwoven in the background and often partially obscured by the primary melody, introduce a different folksong tradition with images of disillusionment and dehumanization — phrases like “war bellows blazing in scarlet battalions” and “generals order their soldiers to kill” — these lines infuse the recording with a commentary on the human condition and the relentless march of war. Although they originate from a modern perspective, the “Canticle” lyrics are carefully integrated with the traditional verses, so that together they evoke a singular, layered experience in which the timeless nature of love and longing coexists with the harsh realities of conflict.
Creating a Unified Whole: The Interplay of Imagery and Sound
When listened to as a single, integrated narrative, the song’s two lyric sets do not merely coexist — they complement and transform one another. Consider, for example, the merged lines:
Washes the grave with silvery tears
Between the salt water and the sea strands
In isolation, the Canticle’s modern commentary offers a glimpse into a world of death and military conflict, while the traditional line speaks of impossible tasks and idealized love. Together, however, they evoke a powerful image: tears that are both salty and silvery, linking the natural element of the sea with the deep sorrow of mourning. In this union, the image transcends its parts, suggesting that nature itself becomes a repository of both beauty and grief.
Another striking example lies in the melding of these lines:
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
On the side of a hill, in the deep forest green
Here, the request for an impossibly perfect garment takes on new meaning when overlaid with the description of “deep forest green.” Rather than a mere fabrication of cloth, the shirt is transformed into something organic — a garment that embodies the essence and color of the forest. The result is a sensory painting in which the human longing for a lost love merges with nature’s enduring, enigmatic beauty.
In one section, the traditional task of crafting a perfect cambric shirt is interlaced with images of natural coverings — “blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain” — suggesting that the idealized creation might be as much a product of nature’s own design as it is of human ingenuity. In another passage, the request for an acre of land, described in idyllic terms such as “a sprinkling of leaves,” is merged with the somber scene of a grave being washed by silvery tears and a soldier meticulously cleaning his gun. The resulting composite image speaks to the coexistence of pastoral beauty with the inevitable traces of human strife.
The lines
Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather
War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions
Generals order their soldiers to kill
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
illustrate a surreal and ominous union of imagery. The brutal command to kill, associated with the machinery of war, is juxtaposed with the act of gathering a harvest in heather — a wild, seemingly inconsequential plant. This pairing creates a sense of futility and absurdity, as if the song is highlighting the disconnection between orders and their outcomes. The ominous feeling comes from using the wrong tools for the task, leading to a sense of purposelessness — why am I gathering things "in heather"? Why am I killing for a cause I have long forgotten? The song lingers on these unsettling contradictions, making the listener question the logic of war and duty.
The Musical Architecture: Intersecting Melodies and Sonic Obscuration
Integral to the song’s unified effect is its unique musical structure. While Art Garfunkel is often credited with crafting the recording’s lower-pitched and underpinning melody of the “Canticle” lyrics and singing the higher-pitched traditional ones, Paul Simon’s voice is prominently heard singing the “Canticle” sections. The merging of these two melodic strands — each reflective of its own lyrical tradition — and the merging of the two voices, create a layered musical dialogue that enriches the song’s overall impact. This blending is underscored by an extremely delicate balance between the bass, acoustic folk guitar, and harpsichord.
Moreover, the way the two sets of lyrics are recorded further enhances this otherworldly atmosphere. In several instances, the “Canticle” lyrics are deliberately obscured, their first halves partially masked by the more dominant “Scarborough Fair” vocals. Phrases such as “on the side of a hill,” “washes the grave,” and “war bellows blazing” are not entirely audible, contributing to a dreamlike quality that renders the modern commentary elusive and enigmatic. This layering of sound makes it feel like the song is quietly hinting at the harsh realities of war beneath the familiar tune of an old ballad. The resulting effect is one of profound ambiguity, inviting the listener to search for meaning in the spaces between the clearly sung lines.
From the Record to the Silver Screen: The Graduate’s Enduring Use of “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”
Few films have leveraged a song’s emotive power as effectively as The Graduate did with “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.” In 1967, the movie featured the song prominently —playing it in its entirety on two separate occasions, in addition to using a brief instrumental version. Such an extensive deployment of a single song in a Hollywood feature film was extraordinary at the time, and it speaks volumes about the song’s cultural resonance and cinematic potential.
The Graduate is a film that grapples with themes of alienation, disillusionment, and the search for meaning in a rapidly changing society. The haunting, layered quality of “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” makes it an ideal companion for the film’s narrative. Its seamless integration of pastoral beauty with the somber realities of modern conflict mirrors the internal struggle of the film’s protagonist, Benjamin Braddock, as he navigates a world that seems both alluring and disconcertingly hollow.
The film’s extensive use of the song helped to elevate its status, introducing it to a broader audience and solidifying its place in popular culture. The juxtaposition of the familiar folk melody with the more elusive, politically charged commentary resonated with the 1960s counterculture, which was itself marked by a profound questioning of traditional values. In this way, the song became emblematic of an era — a symbol of the tensions between the old and the new, the ideal and the real.
Furthermore, the deliberate obscuration of some of the “Canticle” lyrics in the recording adds another layer of cinematic resonance. In The Graduate, where the boundaries between the overt and the hidden are continually explored, the song’s elusive modern commentary functions as a subtle underscore to the film’s themes of hidden anxieties and unspoken truths. The partial masking of phrases like “washes the grave” and “war bellows blazing” creates a sense of mystery and depth, deepening the film’s emotional subtext.
Synthesis: A Masterpiece of Layered Expression
“Scarborough Fair/Canticle” stands as a masterful example of how disparate elements — be they lyrical traditions, melodic strands, or thematic motifs — can be woven together to form a cohesive and powerful work of art. The song’s dual narrative, with its interlacing of the ancient and the modern, the natural and the militaristic, reflects on the lasting struggles of love, loss, and war. Each lyrical fragment, whether it describes the impossible tasks of an idealized romance or the harsh commands of a military order, contributes to a unified tapestry of meaning that transcends the boundaries of time and genre.
The intersecting melodies — Paul Simon’s traditional lines melding with Art Garfunkel’s haunting counterpoint — are not merely a product of collaboration; they bring together the song’s contrasting themes in a way that feels completely natural. This interplay underscores the notion that human experience is seldom simple or one-dimensional. Instead, our lives are composed of overlapping layers of beauty and pain, hope and despair, each echoing the other in an endless, interwoven dance.
In the context of The Graduate, the song’s layered structure takes on an even greater significance. The film, a landmark of 1960s cinema, uses “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” not just as a soundtrack, but as a narrative device that encapsulates the zeitgeist of the era. The song’s integration into the film’s fabric — its extensive use in full and in instrumental form — demonstrates how a single piece of music can articulate complex emotions and themes. By merging the old with the new, the pastoral with the political, the familiar with the enigmatic, the song captures the spirit of an age defined by transformation and contradiction.