"Wayfaring Stranger" (also known as "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" or "I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"), Roud 3339, is a well-known American folk and gospel song likely originating in the early 19th century about a plaintive soul on the journey through life. As with most folk songs, many variations of the lyrics exist and many versions of this song have been published over time by popular singers, often being linked to times of hardship and notable experiences in the singers' lives, such as the case with Burl Ives' autobiography.
According to the book The Makers of the Sacred Harp, by David Warren Steel and Richard H. Hulan, the lyrics were published in 1858 in Joseph Bever's Christian Songster, which was a collection of popular hymns and spiritual songs of the time. This may or may not have been the first time the song appeared in English print, and the songwriter is unknown. Steel and Hulan suggest the song was derived from an 1816 German-language hymn, "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" by Isaac Niswander.
During and for several years after the American Civil War, the lyrics were known as the Libby Prison Hymn. This was because the words had been inscribed by a dying Union soldier incarcerated in Libby Prison, a warehouse converted to a notorious Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia known for its adverse conditions and high death rate. It had been believed that the dying soldier had authored the song to comfort a disabled soldier, but this was not the case since it had been published several years before the Civil War in 1858, before Libby Prison was put into service (1862).
Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger A-travelling through this world of woe But there's no sickness, no toil or danger In that bright world to which I go
Alternative lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger I'm travelling through this world of woe Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger In that bright land to which I go I'm going there to see my father I'm going there, no more to roam I'm only going over Jordan I'm only going over home I know dark clouds will gather round me I know my way is rough and steep But golden fields lie just before me Where God's redeemed shall ever sleep I'm going home to see my mother And all my loved ones who've gone on I'm only going over Jordan I'm only going over home Repeat verse one and chorus
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