I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound

DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the life of a rambler, commenting "I can't help but wonder where I'm bound." He sees worried people everywhere, he misses his former girlfriend and his buddy; he advises people who have homes to stay there
AUTHOR: Tom Paxton
EARLIEST DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: rambling home
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 52, "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" (1 text)
DT, WHERBOND*
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
Can't Help But Wonder
NOTES [181 words]: Obviously this isn't a traditional song, and it probably never will become one. On the other hand, it has been sung so widely by pop/folk singers (themselves ramblers, and so perhaps unusually sympathetic to the song) that I have seen a number of bluegrass sources list it as traditional. It may be that the song belongs in the Index just to refute that claim. No other Paxton song seems to have had its origin so widely forgotten.
In his book The Honor of Your Company, p. 16, Paxton reports writing this song "around 1962." He add that "I've had countless people tell me they learned to play the guitar with this song. They always look a little confused when I tell them that the same was true for me."
I find it interesting that Tom Paxton has, as of this writing, five songs in the Index -- "The Marvelous Toy," "The Last Thing on My Mind," "My Ramblin' Boy," "Going to the Zoo," and "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" -- and all were written and recorded very early in his career. Nor have I seen any hints of any of his later songs matching those five in popularity. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: FSWB052

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