Question: who wrote the song will you go lassie go
Answer: 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 .