Wanderin'

DESCRIPTION: "My daddy is an engineer, My brother drives a hack, My sister takes in washin' An' the baby balls the jack, An' it looks like I'm never gonna cease my wanderin'." Tales of work and poverty, held together by the refrain "never gonna cease my wanderin'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag)
KEYWORDS: work hardtimes rambling nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, pp. 188-189, "Wanderin'" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Scott-TheBalladOfAmerica, pp. 335-336, "Wandering" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 218, "Wand'rin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NewAmericanSongster, p. 281, "Wandering" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 59, "Wandering" (1 text)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 507, "I Got de Hezotation Stockings and de Hezotation Shoes" (1 short text, with a verse and chorus from "Hesitation Blues" and a verse from "Wanderin'")
DT, WANDERIN*
Roud #4399
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "Wanderin'" (Columbia 1585-D, 1928)
NOTES [47 words]: The total irrelevance of plot to this song is shown by the fact that Scott's version (which is mostly about the traveler's rambles, except for the line "If the Republicans don't get you, the Democrats must") shares only three lines, apart from the refrain, with the DT version. - RBW
File: San188

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography