Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Steve & Ruth Smith: I Wonder As I Wander

In 1933, musicologist John Jacob Niles was visiting Western North Carolina collecting American folk songs. Near Murphy, he came upon a group of Evangelicals who had been evicted from the local town. A young girl captured his attention by singing a fragment of a song. She repeated it seven times in order to earn a quarter. Her name was Annie Morgan, and although she was disheveled and her tattered clothes were filthy, Niles was mesmerized by her impromptu performance.


Niles took the fragment of lyrics and a rudimentary melody and wrote the Christmas song “I Wonder as I Wander.” While it has been sung thousands of times by numerous artists, I found this wonderful instrumental of the song by Steve and Ruth Smith from near Boone, NC.

As you will discover, the sparse instrumentation of guitar and hammered dulcimer is far more rewarding than a full orchestra. Ruth Smith shines on the dulcimer while Steve accompanies on the acoustic guitar. The duo has been performing for 35 years and has received numerous accolades. While this is a live performance of “I Wonder as I Wander,” the duo released it on their Christmas CD, “An Appalachian Winter,” in 2009.




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2 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 24, 2013 at 12:02 AM

    Would love to see the stunning lyrics included here, as well...

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    Replies
    1. Jim OwstonDecember 25, 2013 at 10:56 PM

      OK Stachia, here they are:

      I wonder as I wander out under the sky
      How Jesus the Saviour 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 God's heaven, 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 to sing
      He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King

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

      Delete

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