scarborough fair

[Nefertiti]

Hi there.

"Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine."
1. What does 'remember me to one' mean? Do you say 'remember me to you' or 'remember him to her'?
2. Does 'one' refer to 'she' in the quote above?

"Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,....Without no seams nor needlework, then she'll be a true love of mine"
3. I wonder why if she makes a cambric shirt with no seams nor needlework, then she'll be a true love of his? I'm trying to understand the logic here?

"Tell her to find me an acre of land,.....Between the salt water and the sea strand, then she'll be a true love of mine"
4. I wonder why the land must be between salt water and the sea strand?

"Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather,....
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather, then she'll be a true love of mine"
5. What is a sickle of leather?
6. 'To gather it all in a bunch of heather, then she'll be a true love of mine' What does 'it' refer to?
7. Why will she be a true love of his if she gathers it all in a bunch of heather?


Thanks in advance.


cambric n/adj. thin cotton fabric: a thin white linen or cotton fabric (from Encarta)

strand n. a shore

heather n. a low spreading bush with small pink, purple or white flowers, which grows wild, especially on hills (from Cambridge)

______
The Song Simon And Garfunkel | Scarborough Fair lyrics

ref: About the song Scarborough Fair

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

Hi there.

"Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine."
1. What does 'remember me to one' mean? Do you say 'remember me to you' or 'remember him to her'? Not the first, but the second is fine. It means to remind the person about someone else.
2. Does 'one' refer to 'she' in the quote above? Yes

"Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,....Without no seams nor needlework, then she'll be a true love of mine"
3. I wonder why if she makes a cambric shirt with no seams nor needlework, then she'll be a true love of his? I'm trying to understand the logic here? It is impossible to do. Therefore he is saying he is aware that she is unlikely to be faithful to him.

"Tell her to find me an acre of land,.....Between the salt water and the sea strand, then she'll be a true love of mine"
4. I wonder why the land must be between salt water and the sea strand? The same as #3

"Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather,....
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather, then she'll be a true love of mine"
5. What is a sickle of leather?
6. 'To gather it all in a bunch of heather, then she'll be a true love of mine' What does 'it' refer to?
7. Why will she be a true love of his if she gathers it all in a bunch of heather? All of these are impossibilities - all indicate that she will never be true.


Thanks in advance.


cambric n/adj. thin cotton fabric: a thin white linen or cotton fabric (from Encarta)

strand n. a shore

heather n. a low spreading bush with small pink, purple or white flowers, which grows wild, especially on hills (from Cambridge)

______
The Song Simon And Garfunkel | Scarborough Fair lyrics

ref: About the song Scarborough Fair

..

[baqarah131]

I've heard and enjoyed this song dozens of times, but I never noticed that it was a series of impossible tasks. Thanks, Anglika.