'I wonder as I wander, out under the sky, how Jesus the Savior did come for to die for poor ord'n'ry people like you and like I' Praise the Lord!
I Wonder As I Wander
I (Gm)wonder as I (Cm)wander, out (Gm7)under the (D7)sky,
how (Gm)Jesus the(Cm) Savior did (D7)come for to (Gm)die
for (Gm)poor ord'n'ry (Cm)people like (Gm7)you and like(G7) I.
I (Gm)wonder as I wand(Cm)er, out (Gm)under the (Cm)sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus, all in a cow's stall,
came wise men and farmers and shepherds and all,
and high from the heavens a star's light did fall;
the promise of the 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 had it, 'cause he was the king.
I (Gm)wonder as I (Cm)wander, out (Gm7)under the (D7)sky,
how (Gm)Jesus the(Cm) Savior did (D7)come for to (Gm)die
for (Gm)poor ord'n'ry (Cm)people like (Gm7)you and like(G7) I.
I (Gm)wonder as I wand(Cm)er, out (Gm)under the (Cm)sky.
From fact sheet: "John Jacob Niles, the singer and collector of folk songs, said that he based his "I Wonder As I Wander" on a line or two of haunting music that he heard sung by a young girl in a small North Carolina town. He asked her to sing the few notes over and over, paying her a few pennies each time, until he had jotted it all down in his notebook. So close was the finished song to its Appalachian inspiration that Niles is often cited as arranger of the tune rather than its creator."
Niles himself wrote: "After eight tries, all of which are carefully recorded in my notes, 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. I sang it for five years in my concerts before it caught on. Since then, it has been sung by soloists and choral groups wherever the English language is spoken and sung."