Wild Mountain Thyme

[1] Tannahill's original song, first published in Robert Archibald Smith's Scottish Minstrel (1821–24), is about the hills (braes) around Balquhidder near Lochearnhead.

The existing tune of "Wild Mountain Thyme" is significantly different from Tannahill's "The Braes of Balquhither", which was most likely based on a traditional air.

In an 1854 publication, George Farquhar Graham notes that Tannahill's song was set to the air "Bochuiddar" (Balquidder), as found in Captain Simon Fraser's Collection of Melodies of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (1816).

[citation needed] Peirce immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s and in 1967 took on the running of Tryworks Coffee House, a hub of folk music and culture in New Bedford, MA.

[citation needed] "Wild Mountain Thyme" would be sung every Saturday night at Tryworks, popularising the song to folk music lovers who attended the coffee house.