I wonder as I wander | I wonder as I wander out under the sky

by John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980)

I wonder as I wander

Language: English

Our translations: FRE FRE

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
how Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
for poor ordn'ry people like you and like I
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

when Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow stall
with wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
but high from the Heavens a star's light did fall
and a promise of ages it then did recall

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing;
Or all of God's angels in Heav'n for to sing,
He surely could have it 'cause he was the King!

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• L. Berio • B. Britten • J. Rutter

View text with all available footnotes

Note provided by Jeroen Scholten: This text is often described as an Appalachian carol transcribed by Niles, but he did more than transcribe it according to The Songs of John Jacob Niles: New Edition Containing Eight Additional Songs, with a Preface by John Jacob Niles, New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1993. From Niles's preface, dated 1975: "Suffice it to say that I wrote it in 1933, based on a fragment I overheard in the courthouse square in Murphy, N.C." (Thanks to Rufus Browning for the information). See also I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles by Ron Pen, University Press of Kentucky, 2010, pages 154-155, for a description of the development of the text.

Text Authorship:

by John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980), "I wonder as I wander", written 1933 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Luciano Berio (1925 - 2003), "I wonder as I wander", 1964, from Folk Songs, no. 2, note: arranged for Cathy Berberian [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "I wonder as I wander", published 1934 [ voice and piano ], in Songs of the Hill Folk [sung text checked 1 time]
by George Crumb (1929 - 2022), "I wonder as I wander", 2006 [ male voice, female voice, amplified piano, and percussion ], from Voices from a Forgotten World: American Songbook V, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "I wonder as I wander", 1996, first performed 1996 [ mezzo-soprano and strings ], from On the Road to Christmas, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980), "I wonder as I wander" [ unaccompanied voice ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Milford Rutter, CBE (b. 1945), "I wonder as I wander" [ chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Jeroen Scholten

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 119