I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I...
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus, 'twas in a cow's stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from the heavens a star's light did fall,
And the 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 heaven for to sing,
He surely could have had it,'cause he was the King.

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I...
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.



abc | midi | pdf

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Source: The Second Penguin Book of Christmas Carols, ed. Elizabeth Poston.

Notes:
From the Poston book: I Wonder as I Wander, collected by John Jacob Niles in North Carolina (Songs of the Hill-Folk, G. Schirmer Inc., New York, Set 14 of Schirmer's American Folk Song Series), a meditative solo-type folk song that should sound essentially free and improvisatory with only the lightest suggestion of accompaniment to the reflective vocal line.

Niles's work has come under some academic criticism. For more details see the discusssion thread.

Although the Elizabeth Poston book states that this song was collected by John Jacob Niles, he (JJN) himself wrote in 1958 that, "I had only three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material.. and a magnificent idea. With the writing of additional verses and the development of the original melodic material, I Wonder As I Wander came into being."





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