Scarborough Fair
Free Vocal Sheet Music

Scarborough Fair is a timeless folk song from England.

This is its most famous melody (yes, there are others, less familiar, but also beautiful). 

Scarborough Fair printable sheet music for piano and voice

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Amy Nutall sings a lovely version of this old folk song - I find her mannerisms a bit stagey, but she delivers beautifully on passion:

This Scarborough Fair voice arrangement is in a good range for most singers, the key of Dm.

Just a nine-note range makes it approachable for girls and boys.

(The version on my Beginning Guitar page, while great for guitarists, is not easy for most sopranos, especially young girls, to sing with strength. Too low.) 

If you were looking for the vocal duet that Simon and Garfunkel sang, I'm sorry I can't offer it here.  

Though the folk song, Scarborough Fair, is public domain, Simon and Garfunkel's ARRANGEMENT of the music is NOT public domain.

I'm pretty sure Simon and Garfunkel wrote the version they sang, which means it is their copyrighted intellectual property. 

However, you can find several versions, in multiple keys, by looking for "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" at Musicnotes.com.

This arrangement in Dm is especially for singers.  (If you would like very simple sheet music for piano, lead sheets for Scarborough Fair in many different keys, or guitar tabs, please visit those other pages.)



Here is the link for the vocal piece:



Download FREE English folk song Scarborough Fair 



More Folk Songs to Sing:


Ae Fond Kiss - a love song about saying goodbye, from Scotland


All the Pretty Little Horses - a soft and repetitious lullaby, quite pretty


Ash Grove - a famous and lovely song from Wales


Auld Lang Syne - the New Year's Eve song!


Colorado Trail Song - an American tune written by a real cowboy


Come By the Hills - another popular Irish melody


Down By the Salley Gardens - a famous and pretty song, very sweet 


Green Bushes - a brisk little song that is pretty while being good for breath control training


Grenadier and the Lady - my favorite folk song of all.  Find out why


I Gave My Love a Cherry - the "Riddle Song" is very pretty


Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier - very beautiful, very moving, and a chance for your young singer to learn how to let her voice soar


Keegan's Waltz - this is a traditional Gaelic tune, but the lyrics are very new, supplied by a visitor to this site!


Lavender's Blue - this simple song is not only satisfying for beginning pianists, but also young singers who need to focus on basics.  With a lovely piano accompaniment.


Loch Lomond - the famous and sad song about never meeting again


Mari's Wedding - a singable tune with bouncy chords that is fun to play or sing


Minstrel Boy - a lovely and patriotic song about a warrior-poet


Molly Bawn - a sad story of a young hunter who thought he was shooting at a swan


Morning Has Broken - a beautiful melody made famous again by Cat Stevens


Once I Had a Sweetheart - "but now I have none!" Very pretty, and little-known.


Parting Glass - a well-known Irish tune which my singers always love


Raggle-Taggle Gypsies - a story about a young bride who abandons her wealthy new husband to go off with the gypsies. A catchy melody!


Riddle Song - the pretty song that speaks of giving a cherry without a stone, a chicken without a bone, a baby with no crying.


Scarborough Fair - an old and famous tune of lost love


She Moved Through the Fair - this sounds happy, but it is actually a bit of a love story, and a bit of a ghost story!


Shenandoah - a famous and lovely American tune with ambiguous lyrics


Skye Boat Song - a pretty song from Scotland about the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie over the sea


Spanish Ladies - a minor key sea chanty that swings energetically along - BOYS like singing it too!


The Spanish Lady - Upbeat and energetic, this Irish song is fun to perform with a group


Star of the County Down - LOTS of fun to sing and play!  An excellent ensemble piece


Waltzing Matilda - an unusually pretty melody from Australia; you know this one!  Very popular with kids


The Water is Wide - a very pretty song about disappointed love.  You might have sung this one in high school!


The Wellerman - a sea chanty that is very singable, and very fun!


White, Orange and Green - though not widely known, this charming melody about fighting for the right to carry the flag of Ireland has stirring lyrics and soaring phrases. A favorite of my vocal & guitar students.  I never get tired of this song. 

Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!

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Marta:
Thank you for the free downloads! I'm a private teacher and I teach piano and beginner voice as well. :)

I've been running my studio for about a year and I've come across the same issue; I don't want my students to have to purchase an entire supplemental book for only a couple of songs. So thank you for this site...some great downloads!!

Irish fiddle sheet music for strings

Sylvain:
I found great ideas for my guitar unit on your site, as I didn't know where to begin. Thanks to you I will survive my next 6 weeks.

I also teach choir to middle school, and I love your little morning warmups. Looking forward to more of that in the future. Keep up the great work, it is very inspirational for us beginner teachers.

Comments

Do you have a story or even a question about this vocal piece? Share it!

Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. Also, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR MUSIC THAT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years...

What Other Visitors Have Said

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Scarborough Fair should not be in D minor Not rated yet
As a traditional English piece, this should be in D-dorian, meaning 0 sharps and 0 flats. Because of the wrong key signature, you end up with those accidentals, …

Story about Scarborough Fair Not rated yet
This is one of my favourite songs. I don’t know if the story is interesting but let’s give it a try. It happened back in the Stone Age of cassette players; …

Very useful! Not rated yet
Hi! Is this only for voice? I ask this, because I didn't realise- and I play keyboard. It sounded fine- but I just want to know! P.S. I really love this …

Thanks for Scarborough Fair Not rated yet
I love genuine folk songs, without too much embellishment and arrangment. Glad to have found your site. Jeannette

Click here to write your own.


About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.