Wild Mountain Thyme

• The Minstrels of Mayhem : Blue upon Blue upon Blue

The lyrics were written by the Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774 - 1810) of Paisley. It pome is titled The Braes of Balquidder (with variations on spelling though the town is pronounced 'Balwhither') and can be found in printed works as early as 1742. The version by Tannahill first appeared in the collection of songs Pocket Encyclopedia of Scotch, English, and Irish Songs, II in 1818.

The song is currently popular in Appalachia where it is preformed on the dulcimer.

O the summer time has come
And the trees are sweetly bloomin'
And wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?

Chorus:
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the bloomin' heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?

I will build my love a tower
By yon clear crystal fountain
And on it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain
Will ye go, lassie, go?
Chorus:

I will range through the wilds
And the deep glen sae drearie
And return wi' the spoils
To the bower o' my dearie
Will ye go lassie go?
Chorus:

If my true love she'll not come
Then I'll surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?
Chorus:

The song is sometimes credited to Francis McPeake of the McPeake Family, as Rod Stewart found out when he attempted to copyright the song as his own work under the title "Purple Heather" on his 1995 A Spanner in the Works. The McPeake family had a hit with the song in the 1960s, when they released it as "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?"