Rod Stewart - 'Purple Heather' Scottish Pride

[gaconnochie]

as a new song. The tunes are similar though yes different and Mountain Thyme is better. Again may have been written by someone based on the existing one - or more than likely again just the folk process where it gradually morphed over the years. But slapping a copyright on a trad song does not prove you actually wrote it. The very most that could be said is he came up with the a variation or a new tune for an existing song. As I understand it McPeake himself never actually claimed authorship

[MsAnita57]

Love it !Amazing !

[MsAnita57]

amazing !!I I LOVE IT !

[gaconnochie]

span the Irish Sea. Gaelic culture then spread as did the incoming Anglian culture in the south as politically they took over the south-east from the Britons. Norse presence was mainly in the islands and the extreme north of the mainland. Not so much over the bulk of the mainland.

[gaconnochie]

"The Scots are largely a mixture of Pictish and Norse." I think you need to read up a but more. The base population in Scotland in the Dark Ages was Pictish tribes in the north and Brittonic tribes in the south. The Dalriadan Scotti who were on the western-seaboard and southern Hebrides were fewer in number and by their own tradition had come from Ireland. That is doubted by many modern historians as there is no evidence of mass migration but it s all by the by as we know that the culture did

[tatty01274]

love this tune



[jjjmail]

Great song n vid. But why did you show a picture of cr@p at 2:57? (And was it from a human or horse?)

[sunonthewindow]

@jjjmail hahaha. It's haggis, a traditional Scottish food. I assure you, it tastes better than it looks.

[DitchBiscuit]

@jjjmail Haggis is a sheep's heart liver and lungs cooked in it's own stomach. Feeling hungry now?

[BigCrookster]

Beautiful images of Scotland and Scottishness!!

Especially liked my hometown [Stirling] at 2:27 but the map at 3:00 showing The North Sea as The 'BRITISH' ocean, haha, no thank you!! lol.

Excellent, thanks for the upload sunonthewindow, brilliantly put together!

[keysmccarthy]

It was written by William McPeake from the famous McPeake family of musicians from Belfast, Ireland.

The confusion over the origin of the song may be related to the fact that there is a fine Scottish ballad which contains echoes of Wild Mountain Thyme. It’s called the Braes of Balquhidder which was written by Robert Tannahill in the late 18th or early 19th century.

It is a beautiful melody but quite distinct from McPeake’s song. There are more noticeable echoes in the lyrics, however............

[keysmccarthy]

@keysmccarthy ..........The Tannahill song begins with the lines:

“Let us go lassie, go tae the braes o’Balquidder,

Where the blaeberries grow among the bonnie bloomin’ heather.”

This is clearly similar to the chorus of the Wild Mountain Thyme. There is also a reference to making a bower by a silver fountain which suggests McPeake may have been influenced by the older Scottish song, but not so much that he did not create a new and original work of his own.

[gaconnochie]

@keysmccarthy "This is clearly similar to the chorus of the Wild Mountain Thyme" You are being a tad disingenuous. Virtually the entire lyric of Wild Mountain Thyme exists already in Tannahills poem. There are not even differences for it to be regarded as different. It is the same lyric though shorter than the original.

[keysmccarthy]

@gaconnochie I don't understand what is "a tad disingenuous" about my statement. It IS clearly similiar, as you didn't fail to point out. However, the fact remains, the melodys are completely different (and both very beautiful in my opinion). I like to think of it as a great song written by Tannahill and McPeake, lyrics mainly by Tannahill, music mainly by McPeake - overall, a beautiful Irish/Scottish song completed over time.

[gaconnochie]

@keysmccarthy It is disingenious in that you are even still saying the lyrics are only 'similar' but they are not. The lyric for three of the Wild Mountain Thyme verses are lifted directly from Balquhidder basically word for word. All McPeake has done is change the chorus and add a new verse but mainly from shifting existing lines about. Wild Mountain only has about three short lines of lyric in total which are not already in Balquhidder. Normal folk process not different enough to be classes

[keysmccarthy]

@55honor Van Morrison is Irish. If you want to talk ancestrally, rather than what his nationality is, he derives from Irish AND Ulster Scots origins (like practically EVERYONE in Ireland & Scotland). If you wish to go further back than that, the Scots were originally a tribe from Ireland, hence why its simpler to look at us all as Celts and to not claim either solely Scottish, or solely Irish heritage as this is IMPOSSIBLE to determine. I guess you should read your "damned history books".

[6613anthony]

@keysmccarthy , like to know where the Welsh came from then, i've been told they come originally from Russia thousands of years ago and also believed that the Scottish had something to do with the vikings.

[6613anthony]

@keysmccarthy So if the Scottish and Irish are Celts, does that mean the Welsh are Different and aren't Celts at all?

[garib92]

@6613anthony the Welsh ARE Celts

[1888franny]

naw m8 a like it tae reminds me of the scotland games

[southdave52]

just a note set to music.note=we will all go together////we named our daughter ..HEATHER;;;usn'nurse--celtic love'''last forever''''(let it go///and enjoy)..p.s. i think the song"lassie go" was writ by sedchwick mcdoanold in 1807;;i think;;;enjoy the stewart rendention of this'''well done!!!!

[MAYTE250666]

this is a song from Irish man Van Morrison, it leaves me breathless....

[dblock5one4]

I love Rod Stewart, I'm 28 years old and all his music reminds me of long drives as a kid with my mom across the country to visit family.

[dude75able]

Great films about SCOTLAND: BRIGADOON (1954) HIGHLANDER (1985) BEING HUMAN (1994) BRAVEHEART (1995) HIGHLANDER: THE FINAL DIMENSION (1995) ROB ROY (1995) TRAINSPOTTING (1996) HIGHLANDER:ENDGAME (2000) THE WATERHORSE (2007) STONE OF DESTINY (2008) THE EAGLE (2010)

[betamax1980]

This is quite a wonderful song, and I haven't heard it in many years. Thank you so much for finding it.

[KingTheBurger]

This song is not of Scottish origin - it was written by Belfast man Francie McPeake, and first recorded in 1957. Sorry all you Caledonians :)

Loreto

[coldmeatpie]

Aye, but itself an interpretation of The Braes O' Balquhidder written by by the Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774-1810, a contemporary of Robert Burns) and set to music by R.A. Smith. Still, what would an Ayrshireman and a Ulsterman have in common eh?

[gaconnochie]

@KingTheBurger It actually is of Scottish origin. McPeake only produced a version of it. Just cos you slap a copyright on a trad piece, as Stewart tried to do too, it doesn't mean you actually wrote it.

[Iluvglasgowceltic]

beautiful song by rod

[MangaTokyoMewMew]

16 year old girl likes it !! I LOVE ROD STEWART FOREVER!! ♥

[Caspisan]

@MangaTokyoMewMew

And her twinsis does so too!!! <3

[lisashenmaid]

i remember my dad buying this single in the 90s and playing it when i was a little kid! good times. every beat of my heart was on it too, track 2 or 3 i think

[MrPdoh]

this is great! Hot Rod!

[dloopiggy]

BEAUTIFUL SCOTLAND

[17greendragon]

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS THIS MAN EVER SANG. THANKS ROD

[aguslocoporeltenis]

this song is very beautiful, all the musics of rod are perfect, i have 15 years old and I'm from Argentina, he is going to sing here in 5 days, i am waiting desperately to the show!!! He is the best. Thank you Rod!!!!

[lazyjim1]

WOW! one the best versions of this song!!

[1888franny]

c'mon the scots euro 2012 only spain stand in our way lets be brave every man woman and child alba needs you

[LadyGreyCarolyn]

Questa canzone mi fa scoppiare il cuore dall'emozione..... Rod è fantastico!

[adracadabra33]

Heather : the most beautiful person I have met.

[kamikazesamurai]

Does anyone have lyrics for the Gaelic choir portion?

[fridayknight]

go lassie go, its an old scotish folk tune. i have heard many versions. This has the best orchestration, but the masterless men's version has more heart and sounds much more traditional. As usual this man does one hell of a cover tune !!!!

[GrazaShaw]

Rod Stewart, born in England, re-born in Scotland!!!! Pride!!

[Picardy]

I guess it's been pointed out, but the song is called "Will ye go lassie, go" or Wild Mountain Thyme.

[62FlowerPower]

I believe God was listening Irish and Scottish music when created the world !

God bless Ireland and Scotland !...a romanian says.

[mterrymal]

rods a legend 

[tracylittle8564]

our son sang this to all the guests at our wedding when he was five years old. he will be 21 in a few weeks. god it seems like just yesterday

[1DeathDemon11]

i cant believe it :'( the people that watch this video and liked it are all these ages

Male 55-64

Male  45-54

Female 45-54 guess i must be the one and only 16 year old boy whos faverot song from rod the boy is me :D purple heather i f***ing love it!!

[SoldierOfTheMCRmy100]

@1DeathDemon11

Pssssh singing this song in choir. I was going to try out for the solo today but was unable to because I'm going through some tough things in life.

I love Scottish music anyway though.

BTW I'm 15.

[Marketak13]

@1DeathDemon11 Heyy.... I am a girl and 15 years old :-)

[dercarsus]

Did not know he sang this one, 

[Ataraxian13]

Rod is the best thing to come out of Ireland. What a gem, love this song x

[sunonthewindow]

@Ataraxian13 Yes, Rod is a very good thing- but he doesn't have much to do with Ireland I'm afraid. He was born and raised in North London, and currently lives in Essex. According to Wikipedia, he is of English and Scottish ancestry. But yes, it is a very lovely song.

[wryguy007]

@sunonthewindow Though he was born and raised in England, in interviews he says he considers himself to be, refers to himself as, "a proud scotsman".

[mikka7095]

@Ataraxian13 Rod is from SCOTLAND!



[mooseylad]

@mikka7095 rod was born and brought up in north london... hence his very english accent..his fATHER was born in scotland thou

[gaconnochie]

@mikka7095 He isn't from Scotland. He was born and brought up in London. His father was Scottish and I think his mother was English. He identifies himself as a Scot though.

[MrFlexi1234]

@Ataraxian13  think you will find rod stewart was born in north london. and a self proclaimed adopted scot.

[MsOneiroi77]

@Ataraxian13 lol he's not Irish I don't know where you got that one from?

[craigham93]

@Ataraxian13 scottish parents but he was born in england, got your geography a wee bit fucked up there but we'll forgive you for trying to steal rod from us

[MsOneiroi77]

@Ataraxian13 ahahaha omg he's so not Irish

[TAXIDUB]

excellent 

[runrig26]

As Tina would say this is Simply the best .

[angelusuk1a]

@runrig26 simply the best is a rangers anthem , rod is a good celtic bhoy he would never sing that lol

[runrig26]

@angelusuk1a never said rod would sing simply the best, i said Tina Turner would say this song is simply the best verson ive heard lol, ofcourse i new he was a Celtic fan, and i new the Rangers sing simply the best, with me being a scottish fan, but tks for the information, lol !!!

[GrazaShaw]

About time someone put this up, been looking for years! Thanks :D

[DorbyDog]

Great version from Rod..I have the cd.. Nice photos well done... Looking forward to going back to the Highlands..Thanks...DorbyDog..­Ireland

[sc07land]

great song all be there this summer among the purple heather in royal deeside

[soccerlady04]

Thank u soooo much for posting this amazing video. Helps me a lot to count the days, till i´m going to bonny scotland again!

[BuddieDavey]

Thanks so much for posting this. I have a site which includes all of Robert Tannahill's lyrics. You'll find it under Robert Tannahill Federation.

[BuddieDavey]

Thanks so much for posting this. I have a website which includes all of Robert Tannahill's lyrics. You'll find it under Robert Tannahill Federation.

[jonsouthgen]

"Wild Mountain Thyme" is a very popular and beautiful evocation of Scotland`s natural beauty tied in witha love song. I `ve never understood why Rod felt the need to change the words of some lines to produce his version. Stunning photographs and lovely Gaelic choir though !!. A Merry Christmas and a richt guid Ne`erday tae ye all. ,and remember, Auld Lang Sine (with a soft s), NEVER Zyne !!

[gardozzo]

SCOTLAND IS MAGIC 

[icecreamman540]

love this song glad you posted it brings back many memores glad to say all good thanks again

[TheNorthcountryman]

Found it again at last, awesome

[sunonthewindow]

@TheNorthcountryman Glad you like it. It really is a beautiful song.