The Elfin Knight (Child 2G)
Francis James Child * Track #66 On The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
Download "The Elfin Knight (Child 2G)"
Album The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
- #1Riddles Wisely Expounded (Child 1A)
Francis James Child
- #2The Elfin Knight (Child 2A)
Francis James Child
- #3The Fause Knight Upon the Road (Child 3)
Francis James Child
- #4Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight (Child 4)
Francis James Child
- #5Gil Brenton (Child 5)
Francis James Child
- #6Willie’s Lady (Child 6)
Francis James Child
- #7Earl Brand (Child 7B)
Francis James Child
- #8Erlinton (Child 8A)
Francis James Child
- #9The Fair Flower of Northumberland (Child 9B)
Francis James Child
- #10The Twa Sisters (Child 10R)
Francis James Child
- #11The Cruel Brother (Child 11A)
Francis James Child
- #12Lord Randall (Child 12A)
Francis James Child
- #13Edward (Child 13B)
Francis James Child
- #14Babylon or The Bonnie Banks o Fordie (Child 14A)
Francis James Child
- #15Leesome Brand (Child 15A)
Francis James Child
- #16Sheath and Knife (Child 16)
Francis James Child
- #17Hind Horn (Child 17A)
Francis James Child
- #18Sir Lionel (Child 18A)
Francis James Child
- #19King Orfeo (Child 19)
Francis James Child
- #20The Cruel Mother (Child 20)
Francis James Child
- #21The Maid and the Palmer (Child 21)
Francis James Child
- #22St. Stephen and Herod (Child 22)
Francis James Child
- #23Judas (Child 23)
Francis James Child
- #24Bonnie Annie (Child 24A)
Francis James Child
- #25Willie’s Lyke-Wake (Child 25A)
Francis James Child
- #26The Three Ravens (Child 26)
Francis James Child
- #27The Whummil Bore (Child 27)
Francis James Child
- #28Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane (Child 28)
Francis James Child
- #29The Boy and the Mantle (Child 29)
Anonymous
- #30King Arthur and King Cornwall (Child 30)
Francis James Child
- #31The Marriage of Sir Gawain (Child 31)
Francis James Child
- #32Kemp Owyne (Child 34A)
Francis James Child
- #33
Alison Gross (Child 35)Anonymous
- #34The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea (Child 36)
Francis James Child
- #35Thomas Rhymer (Child 37A)
Anonymous
- #36Tam Lin (Child 39)
Francis James Child
- #37Sir Patrick Spens (Child 58)
Anonymous
- #38Bonny Barbara Allen (Child 84A)
Francis James Child
- #39Willie o Winsbury (Child 100A)
Francis James Child
- #40Johnie Cock (Child 114)
Traditional Transcriptions
- #41The Battle of Otterburn (Ballad 161)
Francis James Child
- #42Geordie (Child 209)
Francis James Child
- #43The Braes O’ Yarrow (Child 214E)
Francis James Child
- #44The Mother’s Malison, or, Clyde’s Water (Child 216C)
Francis James Child
- #45Our Goodman
Traditional Transcriptions
- #46Thomas The Rhymer (37 B)
Anonymous
- #47The Elfin Knight (Child 2G)
Francis James Child
- #48The Elfin Knight (Child 2D)
Anonymous
The Elfin Knight (Child 2G) by Francis James Child
Performed by
Francis James ChildAbout
This song, one of many versions labeled as The Elfin Knight in the Child Ballads, has become the song Scarborough Fair, one of the more famous riddle songs in the modern zeitgeist.
as written down, it starts with the three riddles, instead of the leadup many of the other versions have.
The Elfin Knight (Child 2G) Annotated
"Can you make me a cambrick shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without any seam or needle work?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Can you wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Where never sprung water nor rain ever fell?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Now you have askd me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
I hope you'll answer as many for me.
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Can you find me an acre of land
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Between the salt water and the sea sand?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Can you plow it with a ram’s horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And sow it all over with one pepper corn?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"Can you reap it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
And bind it up with a peacock's feather?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
"When you have done, and finishd your work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Then come to me for your cambrick shirt."
And you shall be a true lover of mine
The Elfin Knight (Child 2G) Q&A
Who wrote The Elfin Knight (Child 2G)'s ?
The Elfin Knight (Child 2G) was written by Traditional.