Wild Mountain Thyme
traditional Scottish tune sung by Patricia Cummings
photo of Wild Asters in Vermont - Fall 2007
To hear another Scottish song, click here: Loch Lomond
Historical Information
A site reveals that Francis McPeake of Belfast, Ireland was the first to record "Wild Mountain Thyme," in 1957, for the "As I Roved Out" series on BBC. Reportedly, Francis learned the song from his uncle. The site, http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/wildmt.html, quotes Eric Winter as having included the following note with a re-release of an album entitled, "The Corrie In Concert: Scottish Love Songs":
This is an elegant variant of a
Scottish song by Robert Tannahill (1774-1819), "The Braes of Balquidder."
The senior member of the McPeake family of Belfast, Francis I, wrote this
version (the tune is markedly different from Tannahill's) and dedicated it to
his first wife. Long after she died, he married again and his son, Francis II,
wrote an extra verse to celebrate the marriage.
To read that extra verse, please visit the site above.
Song Variations
Some variations of the song utilize different lyrics. One case is the use of the word "tower," instead of "bower." The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the word, "bower," as a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants in a garden or wood." In "Wild Mountain Thyme," the lyrics say, "I will build my love a bower by yon crystal flowing fountain, and on it I will pile all the flowers of the mountain." Yet another version of the song says, "Near yon' pure crystal fountain."
Another Additional Verse
A variation of the Chorus of this traditional Scottish song, is the following verse, according to the site:
http://www.rampantscotland.comm/songs/blsongs_thyme.htm.
I will range through the wilds
And the deep land so dreary
And return with the spoils
To the bower o' my dearie
Will ye go lassie go?
Early Scottish Poem
The song is alternately known as "Will Ye Go Lassie?" The more I have sought more details about the song, the more information I have found online. According to one source, the lyrics were written in a poem entitled, "The Braes of Balquidder," (as stated previously), by Robert Tanahill of Paisley, Scotland (1774-1810).
That poem was based on yet an earlier version that was in print as early as 1742, a date that precedes Tannahill's lifetime. The poem's name has various other spellings and was published in Pocket Encyclopedia of Scotch, English, and Irish Songs, I in 1818. To download a midi file, visit: http://www.contemplator.com/scotland/lassiego.html
A book titled Rise Up Singing contains the lyrics of this song and chord names, but no musical score. For your convenience, an amazon link to that book has been placed in the sidebar, at the upper right.