Wild Mountain Thyme - Will you go, Lassie, go?

“Wild Mountain Thyme” is one of the most beloved songs in the Celtic folk repertoire, known for its romantic imagery, heartfelt melody, and singable refrain. Its story bridges Scotland and Ireland, from the 18th and 20th centuries.

The song’s lineage begins with a Scottish poem. In the late 1700s, Robert Tannahill, the “weaver poet of Paisley,” wrote “The Braes o’ Balquhidder,” inspired by the hills and heather of Perthshire. His words were first printed after his death in 1822 and set to the tune of an older air, “The Three Carls o’ Buchanan.” The poem became a popular pastoral love song of the early 19th century, a celebration of nature and affection expressed through the symbolic gathering of flowers on the highland slopes.

A century later, the song crossed the Irish Sea and found new life in Belfast. Francis McPeake (1885–1971), a uilleann piper, singer, and collector, adapted Tannahill’s poem, shaping it into the song now known as “Wild Mountain Thyme.” McPeake’s version introduced a distinct 3/4 melody and a few lyrical changes that softened the Scottish dialect and brought the song closer to the Irish idiom. The line “Let us go, lassie, go” became “Will ye go, lassie, go,” a phrase that has echoed through countless renditions ever since. McPeake’s family recorded the song for the BBC in 1957, and it soon spread across the folk revival on both sides of the Atlantic.

Its symbols are drawn from folklore as much as from landscape. The wild mountain thyme and Scottish heather evoke renewal, beauty, and fidelity. In Celtic tradition, thyme was sacred to the fairies, while heather represented devotion. The gathering of flowers together becomes a gesture of love, of shared life and companionship. These associations, married to the song’s lilting melody, have made it one of the most enduring love songs in the Celtic canon.

Over the decades, “Wild Mountain Thyme” has been recorded by artists as diverse as The McPeake Family, Joan Baez, The Clancy Brothers, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, and The Corries. Its message of connection—to land, love, and season—has kept it alive in sessions, festivals, and living rooms across the world.

In this version, the Irish folk singer leads the verses with quiet intimacy, while the choruses swell in harmony as the crowd joins in. The arrangement features guitar, accordion, fiddle, uilleann pipes, bodhrán, and whistle, alternating gently between verses to create texture and warmth.

The accompanying imagery follows the Wood Loop Walk in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, moving between open hillsides and the welcoming interior of Monk’s Bar. We see the young couple at the start of their journey, the gift of flowers by a stream, the band’s camaraderie, and the man’s solitary walk at twilight before the final chorus draws everyone together again.

In this closing scene, as candlelight flickers and the singing fades, the spirit of the song is revealed — a simple, timeless invitation: “Will ye go, Lassie, go?”

As always, I wrote out the arrangement and then asked Miss Ai to help me create a studio version. The score is available; send me an email, if you'd like it. I ask for a donation.