<P> `` Wild Mountain Thyme '' ( also known as `` Purple Heather '' and `` Will Ye Go , Lassie , Go ? '' ) is an Irish / Scottish folk song . The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song `` The Braes of Balquhither '' by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill ( 1774 -- 1810 ) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith ( 1780 -- 1829 ) , but were adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake into `` Wild Mountain Thyme '' and first recorded by his family in the 1950s . </P>
<P> `` Wild Mountain Thyme '' ( also known as `` Purple Heather '' and `` Will Ye Go , Lassie , Go ? '' ) is an Irish / Scottish folk song . The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song `` The Braes of Balquhither '' by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill ( 1774 -- 1810 ) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith ( 1780 -- 1829 ) , but were adapted by Belfast musician Francis McPeake into `` Wild Mountain Thyme '' and first recorded by his family in the 1950s . </P>
who wrote the song will you go lassie go
who wrote the song will you go lassie go
Francis McPeake
Francis McPeake