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With such a wide choice available, how can we narrow down the entire body of English folk songs to just eleven of the best?<\/strong> With a great deal of head-scratching, that’s how. Folk music<\/a><\/strong> is a huge and very varied genre, after all. See what you think of our selections, and whether we’ve left any crucial contenders off our list of best English folk songs.<\/p> Origins:<\/strong> 17th century, but probably earlier<\/p> Many people know this song from Simon & Garfunkel. However, it actually predates them by several centuries, with roots that go back to Medieval times<\/a><\/strong>. Its lyrics, referring to an old market fair in Yorkshire that started sometime in the 14th century, are beautifully poetic. A young man delegates impossible tasks to his former lover, demanding that she complete them before she comes back to him.<\/p> In return she requests impossible things of him, saying she will perform her tasks when he performs his. It’s an eloquent expression of yearning, of insecurity, of lovers talking and acting at cross-purposes. But the soul of this song really rests in its haunting melody<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> Best English folk songs<\/h2>
1. Scarborough Fair<\/strong><\/h3>