"Wild Mountain Thyme", also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will You Go Lassie, Go", is a folk song, written by William McPeake, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland and first recorded by McPeake in 1957. It is often mistakenly believed to be a traditional song, but the copyright is held by English Folk Dance and Song Society Publications, who published it for McPeake. It was first recorded by Francis McPeake in 1957, and has since been covered by numerous artists.
Lyrics
The song's
chorus is:
:''Will ye go, lassie, go,
:''And we’ll all go together
:''To pick wild mountain thyme
:''All around the blooming heather,
:Will ye go, lassie, go.
The song is commonly described as a variant of "The Braes of Balquhidder" by Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), which was named after the braes, or hills, of Balquhidder near Lochearnhead, and has a similar lyric and tune. For example, the first two verses of "The Braes of Balquhidder" are given in Complete songs and poems of Robert Tannahill, with life and notes as:
This original melody is heard in one of the opening scenes of the movie, The Woman in Green (1945). The film's central character, Sherlock Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone, is playing the tune on a violin as Doctor Watson interrupts him.
Recordings
There have been numerous recordings of this song, including:
Francis McPeake - for the BBC series As I Roved Out (1957)
Sandy Paton - on Many Sides of Sandy Paton (1959)
The McPeake Family - on McPeake Family of Belfast (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)
Paul Clayton - on Folk Singer (1965)
Joan Baez - on Farewell Angelina (1965)
The New Christy Minstrels - (as "Go, Lassie, Go") on Wandering Minstrels (1965)
The Byrds - on
Fifth Dimension (1966)
Marianne Faithfull - on North Country Maid (1966)
Long John Baldry - on Everything Stops for Tea (1972)
Van Morrison - as "Purple Heather" on Hard Nose the Highway (1973)
Nigel & the Crosses - on Time Between - A Tribute to The Byrds (1989)
Meg Davis - on Meg Davis Live at Dennos (1992)
Strawbs - (as "Will You Go") on the B-side to the single "Part of the Union" and on the album Halcyon Days
Glenn Frey - on Glenn Frey Live (1993)
The Silencers - on So Be It (1994)
Jim Diamond - on Sugarolly Days (1994)
The Corries - on The Corries: In Concert (1995)
Rod Stewart - as 'Purple Heather' on A Spanner in the Works (1995)
The Irish Rovers - on The Irish Rovers' Gems (1996)
Lisa Lynne - on Quiet Heart (1997)
Real McKenzies - on Clash of the Tartans (2000)
Mark Knopfler - on A Shot at Glory (2001)
Enter the Haggis - on Live! (2002)
The Chieftains - on Further Down the Old Plank Road (2003)
Emerald Rose - as "Wild Mountain Thyme" on Celtic Crescent (2003)
James Taylor - on Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Reflections, Vol. 1 (2003)
Broadside Electric - on Black-edged Visiting Card
The Real McKenzies - on Clash of the Tartans
Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha - on Re-Covers (2005)
Keltik Elektrik with Jim Malcolm - on Putumayo Presents Celtic Crossroads (2005)
Kate Rusby - as 'Blooming Heather' on Awkward Annie (2007)
Lucy Wainwright Roche - on 8 Songs (2007)
The High Kings - (as "Will Ye Go, Lassie Go") on their eponymous first 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 (recorded 1971/2007 released 2008)
Ronan Keating - on Songs for My Mother (2009)
Robin Pecknold (as White Antelope) (2009)
Jean Redpath
Bob Dylan - on the
bootleg album
The Minnesota Tapes and on bootleg recordings of his
Isle of Wight Festival performance on August 31, 1969.
Brother - (as Will You Go) on the album Pipe Dreams (1994)
Amanda (sångensemblen) - on Tres (2005)
Damh the Bard - on Tales from the Crow Man (2009)
Chelsea House Orchestra - on Crossing the Border (2010)
References
External links
Wild Mountain Thyme lyrics
Site with link to downloadable MP3
[ Allmusic review: Purple Heather by Van Morrison]
Category:Irish folk songs
Category:Van Morrison songs
Category:The Byrds songs
