I Wonder as I Wander

The Story Behind I Wonder as I Wander

"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christian folk hymn, often considered a Christmas carol. It was written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. Niles was inspired to write the full words to "I Wonder as I Wander" after witnessing a young, impoverished girl sing fragments of the song on July 16, 1933.

The Inspiration for "I Wonder as I Wander"

According to Niles' unpublished autobiography, while he was in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police. Niles writes:

A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile. She began to sing. Her clothes were unbelievable dirty and ragged, and she, too, was unwashed. Her ash-blond hair hung down in long skeins. ... But, best of all, she was beautiful, and in her untutored way, she could sing. She smiled as she sang, smiled rather sadly, and sang only a single line of a song.

The girl was named Annie Morgan, and she repeated the song fragment seven times at Niles' request, in exchange for a quarter per performance. Niles left with "three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea." Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas. His composition was completed on October 4, 1933. Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934.

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