Sheet Music: Wild Mountain Thyme

TitleWild Mountain Thyme
Alternate titlesPurple Heather
Will You Go, Lassie, Go?
Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?
ComposerTraditional Scottish
InstrumentationFlute trio
KeyG major
RangeD4–D6
Time signature4/4
Tempo88 BPM
Performance time2:30
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (58 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (1.2 MB)
Play-along accompanimentMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (1.2 MB)
Date added2022-04-02
Last updated2022-04-02
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 1.3 (average)
Categories
Ballads, Love songs, Slow airs, Traditional/Folk

Performances

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Saturday 2 April 2022

Tune of the Day: Wild Mountain Thyme

Traditional Scottish/Irish folk song

This folk song is a variant of the early-19th-century ballad “The Braes of Balquhither” by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith, which was in turn most likely based on an 18th-century traditional air. The adaptation into the modern version of “Wild Mountain Thyme” was performed by Belfast musician Francis McPeake (1885–1971), who first recorded it with his family in the 1950s. 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”.

Thanks to Mark for contributing this arrangement for three flutes!