The Wild Mountain Thyme
"Wild Mountain Thyme", also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will You Go Lass… Read Full Bio ↴"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.

The Wild Mountain Thyme
Joan Baez Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, the summertime is comin'
And the trees are sweetly bloomin'
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the purple heather
Will you go? Lassie, will you go?

And we'll all go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go? Lassie, will you go?

I will build my love a tower
By yon pure and crystal fountain
Yes and on it I will lay
All the flowers of the mountain
Will you go? Lassie, will ya go?

And we will all go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go? Lassie, will you go?

If my true love won't come with me
Then I would surely find another
To pick wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go? Lassie, will ya go?

And we will all go together
To pick wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go?




Will you go?
Lassie will you go?

Overall Meaning

Joan Baez’s song “The Wild Mountain Thyme” is a beautiful, romantic call to adventure. The lyrics describe the arrival of summer and the beginning of a fruitful season. The trees are blooming and wild mountain thyme is growing all around the purple heather. In this setting, the singer invites her lover, Lassie, to join her in picking wild mountain thyme.


The lyrics describe a magical, dreamy world where the singer builds a tower by a pure and crystal fountain and lays all the flowers of the mountain on top. The invitation to Lassie to join her in this endeavor is repeated twice, emphasizing the importance of the journey and the unity between the singer and Lassie.


The final lines, “If my true love won’t come with me, then I would surely find another,” suggest a sense of independence and resilience, while still maintaining the original spirit of adventure and romance. Overall, “The Wild Mountain Thyme” is a beautiful depiction of the joys of summer and the power of partnership in life’s adventures.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh, the summertime is comin'
The summer season is on its way


And the trees are sweetly bloomin'
The trees are blossoming with sweet smells


And the wild mountain thyme
Wild thyme grows in the mountains


Grows around the purple heather
The thyme grows among the purple flowering heather plant


Will you go? Lassie, will you go?
Do you want to go pick the thyme with me, Lassie?


And we'll all go together
We'll all go collectively


To pick wild mountain thyme
To collect wild mountain thyme


All around the purple heather
The thyme is growing all around the flowering heather plant


I will build my love a tower
I'll raise a tower for my love


By yon pure and crystal fountain
Next to the clear, clean fountain


Yes and on it I will lay
And on it, I'll place


All the flowers of the mountain
All the mountain flowers


Will you go? Lassie, will ya go?
Do you want to join me, Lassie?


If my true love won't come with me
If my true love won't come along


Then I would surely find another
I would find someone else for sure


To pick wild mountain thyme
To go collect wild mountain thyme


All around the purple heather
Grows amid the purple flowering heather plant


Will you go? Lassie, will ya go?
Will you join me, Lassie?


And we will all go together
We will all go collectively


To pick wild mountain thyme
To collect wild mountain thyme


All around the purple heather
It's growing all around the flowering heather plant


Will you go?
Will you come?


Will you go?
Will you come?


Lassie will you go?
Lassie, will you come?




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MCPEAKE FAMILY, FRANCIS MCPEAKE, MCPEAKE FAMILY TRIO THE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@Rach-sy8ry

Oh the summertime is coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

I will build my love a tower
Near yon' pure crystal fountain
And on it I will build
All the flowers of the mountain
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

If my true love she were gone
I would surely find another
To pluck wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

Let us go, lassie, go



@MrAlfonso214

The Wild Mountain Thyme
For the summertime is comming.
And the leaves are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Blooms around the purple heather

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

If my true love will not go
I will surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme,
All around the purple heather

Chorus....

I will build my love a bower
By yon clear an crystal fountain
And in it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain

Chorus...

El Tomillo Salvaje Montaña
Para el verano se acerca
Y las hojas están floreciendo dulcemente
Y el tomillo salvaje de montaña
Florece alrededor del brezo púrpura

Coro: ¿Vas a ir Lassie, vete?
Y vamos a ir todos juntos
Para tirar el tomillo de montaña salvaje
Todo alrededor del brezo púrpura
¿Quieres ir, Lassie ir?

Si mi verdadero amor no va a ir
Seguramente encontraré otro
Para tirar el tomillo salvaje de montaña
Todo alrededor del brezo púrpura

Coro

Yo construiré mi amor un bower
Por yon despejar una fuente de cristal
Y en él apilaré
Todas las flores de la montaña

Coro



All comments from YouTube:

@gregcoles6555

This gorgeously graceful song was played at my beautiful wife Chris's funeral 5 years ago in May 2018, at the exit from the church. She absolutely loved Joan Baez music. For the hippy air, the most kind eyes and soft calming voice my wife carried, this was so very appropriate, not as a farewell, merely adieu for now . Miss her enormously

@eluneyaudiovisual2143

thank you for joan baez, for existing

@patearly9492

One of the coolest songs by one of the coolest artists. God bless everyone

@freudian1976

I do not know why, but this song always helps me writing. Not only my dissertation (on Joan), but also my novels, poetry, stories. I know all of Joan's work, but her version of this beautiful song always opens up a dam of creativity within me. I put this song on a continuous loop and just keep on writing...

@peternolan4107

One of the most beautiful songs ever.

@annberrios9759

celebrating 46 years of loving this song

@davidgrimoldby8663

Beautiful. I can understand why her fans didn't like her sharing the platform with Bob Dylan. Perfect enunciation and diction. You wouldn't know that she is American. The voice is so clear. Not many singers are anything like the same class. Judy Collins perhaps, but apart from her I can't think of anyone else in the same league.

@wilkiepup1

When we were young and times were kinder. I still have this album. This is a great album.

@dongkyujang7155

She has an angelic voice.
Greetings from S.Korea.

@socratesgoulas9036

What a voice!!! Multi instrument!!!!
Greetings from Hellas!

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