"Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a Scottish/Irish folk song. The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829), but were adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake (1885–1971) into "Wild Mountain Thyme" and first recorded by his family in the 1950s.[1]
Tannahill's original song, first published in Robert Archibald Smith's Scottish Minstrel (1821–24), is about the hills (braes) around Balquhidder near Lochearnhead. Tannahill collected and adapted traditional songs, and "The Braes of Balquhither" may have been based on the traditional song "The Braes o' Bowhether".
The existing tune of "Wild Mountain Thyme" is significantly different from Tannahill's "The Braes of Balquhither", which was most likely based on a traditional air. In an 1854 publication, George Farquhar Graham notes that Tannahill's song was set to the air "Bochuiddar" (Balquidder), as found in Captain Simon Fraser's Collection of Melodies of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (1816).[2][3] Other scholars suggest the melody is based on an old Scottish traditional tune "The Three Carls o' Buchanan".[4]
McPeake is said to have dedicated the song to his first wife, but his son wrote an additional verse in order to celebrate his father's remarriage. "Wild Mountain Thyme" was first recorded by McPeake's nephew, also named Francis McPeake, in 1957 for the BBC series As I Roved Out.[4]
While Francis McPeake holds the copyright to the song, it is generally believed that rather than writing the song, he arranged an existing travelling folk version and popularised the song as his father's.[5] When interviewed on radio,[6] Francis McPeake said it was based on a song he heard whilst travelling in Scotland, and he rewrote it later. Bob Dylan's recording of the song cited it as traditional, with the arranger unknown, though Dylan's copyright records indicate that the song is sometimes "attributed to" McPeake.[7]
Lyricsedit
The original version of the song, published in 1957, closely paraphrases the Tannahill version, which was published posthumously in 1822.[1] Tannahill's original lyrics include a number of phrases that McPeake carried over into his song, including the lines "Let us go, lassie, go" and "And the wild mountain thyme" as he rewrote the song.[8][9][10][11][12]
In her book Fragrance and Wellbeing: Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche, author Jennifer Peace Rhind describes "Wild Mountain Thyme" as essentially a love song, with the line, "Wild Mountain Thyme grows among the Scottish heather" perhaps being an indirect reference to the old custom of young women wearing a sprig of thyme, mint or lavender to attract a suitor.[13] Rhind also notes that, in British folklore, the thyme plant was the fairies' playground and often the herb would be left undisturbed for their use.[13]
Recordingsedit
The following is a chronological list of recordings of the song.[14]
Francis McPeake for the BBC series As I Roved Out (1957)
David Hammond on I Am the Wee Falorie Man (1958)
Sandy Paton on Many Sides of Sandy Paton (1959)
The McPeake Family on McPeake Family of Belfast (1961)
Bonnie Dobson (as "Will Ye Go Laddie Go") on The First Time (1961)
Lee Mallory on unreleased recording with producer Curt Boettcher & The Ballroom (1966), later released on Mallory's collections That's the Way It's Gonna Be and Many Are the Times (2003)
^ abFerguson, Jim (2011). "A weaver in wartime: a biographical study and the letters of Paisley weaver-poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810)" (PDF). University of Glasgow.
^"The Braes o' Balquhidder" arr. J.T. Surrene, in The Songs of Scotland vol. 1 (1865) George Farquhar Graham (ed.) pp. 112-113
^"Bochuiddar" as performed by Major Logan. no.77 in The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles Captain Simon Fraser (ed.)
^ abGrant, Stewart. . More Roots of Bob. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
^Hickerson, Joe (March 2008). . Sing Out!. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013.
^BBC Radio 2 program "Folk on Two", broadcast in the 1970s by Jim Lloyd
^"Cantaria: Traditional: Wild Mountain Thyme". Chivalry. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^"Renaissance Festival Lyrics: The Braes of Balquhidder (Wild Mountain Thyme)". Renaissance Festival Music. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
^Tannahill, Robert (1877). Complete Songs and Poems of Robert Tannahill. Paisley: William Wilson. pp. 6–7. OCLC 262462998.
^ abRhind, Jennifer Peace (21 October 2013). Fragrance and Wellbeing: Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche. London: Singing Dragon. p. 251. ISBN978-0-85701-073-5.
^"Wild Mountain Thyme". Discogs. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
^"Fifth Dimension". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
^"Puffers Choice Vol. 3, by Scotch Bonnet Records".
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Braes of Balquhither
Wild Mountain Thyme (lyrics and MP3 file)
January 01, 1970
wild, mountain, thyme, film, film, purple, heather, redirects, here, european, plant, calluna, american, plant, krameria, erecta, mint, plant, creeping, thyme, mother, thyme, also, known, purple, heather, will, lassie, scottish, irish, folk, song, lyrics, melo. For the film see Wild Mountain Thyme film Purple Heather redirects here For the European plant see Calluna For the American plant see Krameria erecta For the mint plant see Creeping Thyme and mother of thyme Wild Mountain Thyme also known as Purple Heather and Will Ye Go Lassie Go is a Scottish Irish folk song The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song The Braes of Balquhither by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill 1774 1810 and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith 1780 1829 but were adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake 1885 1971 into Wild Mountain Thyme and first recorded by his family in the 1950s 1 Tannahill s original song first published in Robert Archibald Smith s Scottish Minstrel 1821 24 is about the hills braes around Balquhidder near Lochearnhead Tannahill collected and adapted traditional songs and The Braes of Balquhither may have been based on the traditional song The Braes o Bowhether Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics 3 Recordings 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp The Wild Mountain Thyme source source Wild Mountain Thyme performed by Christoph Nolte Problems playing this file See media help The existing tune of Wild Mountain Thyme is significantly different from Tannahill s The Braes of Balquhither which was most likely based on a traditional air In an 1854 publication George Farquhar Graham notes that Tannahill s song was set to the air Bochuiddar Balquidder as found in Captain Simon Fraser s Collection of Melodies of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland 1816 2 3 Other scholars suggest the melody is based on an old Scottish traditional tune The Three Carls o Buchanan 4 McPeake is said to have dedicated the song to his first wife but his son wrote an additional verse in order to celebrate his father s remarriage Wild Mountain Thyme was first recorded by McPeake s nephew also named Francis McPeake in 1957 for the BBC series As I Roved Out 4 While Francis McPeake holds the copyright to the song it is generally believed that rather than writing the song he arranged an existing travelling folk version and popularised the song as his father s 5 When interviewed on radio 6 Francis McPeake said it was based on a song he heard whilst travelling in Scotland and he rewrote it later Bob Dylan s recording of the song cited it as traditional with the arranger unknown though Dylan s copyright records indicate that the song is sometimes attributed to McPeake 7 Lyrics editThe original version of the song published in 1957 closely paraphrases the Tannahill version which was published posthumously in 1822 1 Tannahill s original lyrics include a number of phrases that McPeake carried over into his song including the lines Let us go lassie go and And the wild mountain thyme as he rewrote the song 8 9 10 11 12 In her book Fragrance and Wellbeing Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche author Jennifer Peace Rhind describes Wild Mountain Thyme as essentially a love song with the line Wild Mountain Thyme grows among the Scottish heather perhaps being an indirect reference to the old custom of young women wearing a sprig of thyme mint or lavender to attract a suitor 13 Rhind also notes that in British folklore the thyme plant was the fairies playground and often the herb would be left undisturbed for their use 13 Recordings editThe following is a chronological list of recordings of the song 14 Francis McPeake for the BBC series As I Roved Out 1957 David Hammond on I Am the Wee Falorie Man 1958 Sandy Paton on Many Sides of Sandy Paton 1959 The McPeake Family on McPeake Family of Belfast 1961 Bonnie Dobson as Will Ye Go Laddie Go on The First Time 1961 Judy Collins on A Maid of Constant Sorrow 1961 The Clancy Brothers as Will Ye Go Lassie Go on The Boys Won t Leave the Girls Alone 1962 Live on St Patrick s Day 1973 and Reunion 1984 and the video DVD Farewell to Ireland 1996 The Corries on Carry On 1963 Paul Clayton on Folk Singer 1965 Joan Baez on Farewell Angelina 1965 The New Christy Minstrels as Go Lassie Go on Wandering Minstrels 1965 Lee Mallory on unreleased recording with producer Curt Boettcher amp The Ballroom 1966 later released on Mallory s collections That s the Way It s Gonna Be and Many Are the Times 2003 The Byrds on Fifth Dimension 1966 15 Marianne Faithfull on North Country Maid 1966 The Corries on The Corries In Concert 1969 Bob Dylan performed the song with The Band at the Isle of Wight festival on August 31 1969 This performance was eventually released in 2013 on the Deluxe Edition of The Bootleg Series Vol 10 Another Self Portrait 1969 1971 Dylan and Joan Baez sang Wild Mountain Thyme together on the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour and two live performances of the song from that tour were released in 2019 on the box set The Rolling Thunder Revue The 1975 Live Recordings Nana Mouskouri on Turn on the Sun 1970 Long John Baldry on Everything Stops for Tea 1972 The Alexander Brothers on Married by the Bible 1972 Van Morrison as Purple Heather on Hard Nose the Highway 1973 Strawbs as Will You Go on the B Side of the single Part of the Union 1973 Bursting at the Seams Bonus Track and Halcyon Days Brenda Wootton and Robert Bartlett as Brenda and Robert on Tin In The Stream 1974 Buddy Emmons on Steel Guitar 1975 Thin Lizzy on Black Rose A Rock Legend arrangement by Gary Moore and Phil Lynott 1979 George Hamilton IV on Forever Young 1979 Bert Jansch on Heartbreak 1982 Marianne Faithfull on North Country Maid Faithfull Sings Folk Songs 1983 Rick Stanley on On English Hills 1983 Bernadette on Back on the Road Again 1984 Penelope Houston on Birdboys 1987 The Tannahill Weavers on Dancing Feet 1987 Nigel amp the Crosses on Time Between A Tribute to The Byrds 1989 Nancy Cassidy on Kid Songs Jubilee 1990 Denis Ryan as Will You Go Lassie Go on Mist Covered Mountains 1991 Meg Davis on Meg Davis Live at Dennos 1992 Tommy Makem Barley Bree Cherish the Ladies and Ronnie D addario as Go Lassie Go on Tommy Makem and Friends in Concert 1992 Glenn Frey on Glenn Frey Live 1993 The Silencers on So Be It 1994 and Real 2008 Jim Diamond on Sugarolly Days 1994 Viva Brother as Will You Go on Pipe Dreams 1994 Rod Stewart as Purple Heather on A Spanner in the Works 1995 The Irish Rovers on The Irish Rovers Gems 1996 John McDermott on When I Grow Too Old to Dream 1997 Lisa Lynne on Quiet Heart 1997 Real McKenzies on Clash of the Tartans 2000 The Masterless Men on Back on Track 2000 Mark Knopfler on A Shot at Glory 2001 Enter the Haggis on Live 2002 Papa M on Three 2003 The Chieftains on Further Down the Old Plank Road 2003 Emerald Rose on Celtic Crescent 2003 Jim McCann on Ireland s Greatest Love Songs 2003 James Taylor on Telluride Bluegrass Festival Reflections Vol 1 2003 Brian Kennedy as Will Ye Go Lassie Go on On Song 2003 Albert Kuvezin and Yat Kha on Re Covers 2005 Amanda on Amanda Tres 2005 Keltik Elektrik with Jim Malcolm on Putumayo Presents Celtic Crossroads 2005 Devin Townsend adaptation new lyrics on Synchestra 2006 Kate Rusby as Blooming Heather on Awkward Annie 2007 Lucy Wainwright Roche on 8 Songs 2007 Moira Nelson on Echoes of Another Time 2007 Maggie Reilly on Rowan 2007 The High Kings as Will Ye Go Lassie Go on their first self titled album 2008 Lauren Yason Richard Fox and Caroline Dale for the film Stone of Destiny 2008 Blake on And So it Goes 2008 Fotheringay on Fotheringay 2 2008 Robyn Hitchcock amp The Egyptians on Luminous Groove 2008 Lark amp Spur on Once in France 2008 Ronan Keating on Songs for My Mother 2009 Robin Pecknold as White Antelope 2009 Stuart Murdoch recorded the song with another set of lyrics on the Dark Was the Night compilation 2009 The Real McKenzies on Shine Not Burn 2010 Marc Gunn on the album The Bridge 2010 Ben Folds on Download for Good 2011 Mudmen on Donegal Danny 2012 The Rumjacks on Crosses for Eyes 2012 The Dolmen on Whispering Winds 2012 Marti Pellow on the album Hope 2013 Ed Sheeran 2013 Derek Ryan on The Simple Things 2014 10 000 Maniacs on the album Twice Told Tales 2015 James Taylor on the album Before This World 2015 The Bombadils on the album New Shoes 2016 Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band on the album Adios Senor Pussycat 2017 The Longest Johns on the album Between Wind and Water 2018 Mungo s Hi Fi ft Cian Finn as Go Lassie 2019 16 Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan on the soundtrack of the film Wild Mountain Thyme 2020 Gerry Rafferty on the album Rest in Blue 2021 Peter Bruntnell on the album Journey to the Sun 2021 Celtic Woman on the album Postcards from Ireland 2021 The Petersens on the album My Ozark Mountain Home 2022 Rufus Wainwright on the album Folkocracy 2023 Ella Roberts single 2023 Faoilean on the album Far Hills 2023 17 Laufey dodie and Jacob Collier live performance with the National Symphony Orchestra 2024 18 References edit a b Ferguson Jim 2011 A weaver in wartime a biographical study and the letters of Paisley weaver poet Robert Tannahill 1774 1810 PDF University of Glasgow The Braes o Balquhidder arr J T Surrene in The Songs of Scotland vol 1 1865 George Farquhar Graham ed pp 112 113 Bochuiddar as performed by Major Logan no 77 in The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles Captain Simon Fraser ed a b Grant Stewart Wild Mountain Thyme More Roots of Bob Archived from the original on 29 April 2012 Retrieved 27 December 2012 Hickerson Joe March 2008 New questions with answers Sing Out Archived from the original on 5 November 2013 BBC Radio 2 program Folk on Two broadcast in the 1970s by Jim Lloyd Dunn Tim 2008 The Bob Dylan Copyright Files 1962 2007 AuthorHouse p 397 ISBN 978 1438915890 Smith R A 1821 Scottish Minstrel Graham George Farquhar 1850 Scottish Songs Cantaria Traditional Wild Mountain Thyme Chivalry Retrieved 23 January 2008 Renaissance Festival Lyrics The Braes of Balquhidder Wild Mountain Thyme Renaissance Festival Music Retrieved 23 January 2008 Tannahill Robert 1877 Complete Songs and Poems of Robert Tannahill Paisley William Wilson pp 6 7 OCLC 262462998 a b Rhind Jennifer Peace 21 October 2013 Fragrance and Wellbeing Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche London Singing Dragon p 251 ISBN 978 0 85701 073 5 Wild Mountain Thyme Discogs Retrieved 26 December 2012 Fifth Dimension AllMusic Retrieved 10 December 2009 Puffers Choice Vol 3 by Scotch Bonnet Records https www youtube com watch v kkGcWgU p3c amp list OLAK5uy nu11hNR0fpoVG3mRBmtuxu30SvCEA8 us amp index 11 https www youtube com watch v Lz1LEYxFQ5Q amp list RDLz1LEYxFQ5QExternal links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Braes of Balquhither Wild Mountain Thyme lyrics and MP3 file Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wild Mountain Thyme amp oldid 1220449025, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
