B131: Will Ya Go Lassie Go

Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

When I first started travelling away from home and telling people I was from Carrick-on-Suir, it was often confused in people’s minds with Carrick-on-Shannon or Carrickmacross.  But as soon as I mentioned “my” Carrick’s famous sons, the Clancy Brothers and Sean Kelly no further explanation was needed!  

The Clancys were the first to put Carrick on the map in the 1950s and 60s.  For anyone who doesn’t know, they were a talented Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. They were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalising it in Ireland, contributing to an Irish folk boom with groups like the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.
​
The now deceased Clancy Brothers; Paddy, Tom, and Liam, were known best for their work with Tommy Makem (from Keady in Co. Armagh), recording almost two dozen albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Makem left in 1969, the first of many changes in the group's membership. The most notable subsequent member to join was the fourth Clancy brother, Bobby. The group continued in various formations until Paddy Clancy's death in 1998.

Growing up in Carrick, we were always so proud of their achievements.  My mother Peggy’s favourite song of theirs was “Will Ya Go Lassie Go”. She once dreamt that she was singing that song with them at Carnegie Hall and afterwards they treated her to a slap-up meal in a fancy restaurant…but just as she was about to eat it, she woke up.  She met their sister, Mrs. Kiely shortly after in Lawrence’s Butchers in Carrick-Beg and they had a laugh as she told her about her dream 😂Poor Peggy!
​

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem significantly influenced the young Bob Dylan and other artists, including Christy Moore and Paul Brady. As well as “Will Ya Go Lassie Goe” the group was famous for its rousing arrangements of old Irish ballads, rebel and drinking songs, sea shanties, and other traditional music.

Anyway, they are proudly commemorated annually now in Carrick-on-Suir with the Clancy Brothers Arts & Music Festival.  In this 17th year there will be live music and events over the June Bank Holiday Weekend for everyone to enjoy, including: Live Music in the Strand and Brewery Lane Theatres, the Live Music Pub Trail, the Eoghan Power Memorial Ballad Singing Competition, Lunchtime Theatre in the Brewery Lane, Walks and Tours, and family fun https://clancybrothersfestival.com/

So my blog this week is on one of my favourite songs, “Will Ya Go Lassie Go”!  

"Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a Scottish/Irish 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 (1885–1971) into "Wild Mountain Thyme" and first recorded by his family in the 1950s.

Wild Mountain Thyme lyrics
The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Oh, the summer time is coming,
And the trees are sweetly blooming,
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie go?

Chorus:
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? ... Chorus

If my true love, she were gone,
I will surely find another
Where wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie go?... Chorus

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?...
 

---

---

Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog post 131
​Number 74(b) - Experiences - Pick 80 Songs/ Pieces of Music

• "Will Ya Go Lassie Go" by The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

​Other Blog Posts
Blog 11 - Sydney, Australia
Blog 12 - Hong Kong, China
Blog 17 - Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai, China
Blog 19 - California, USA
Blog 27 - Scotland
Blog 28 - Barbados
Blog 29 - Canada

If you liked this post, please share.  Sharing is caring 😊
​​