Hello from the Appalachians! I’ve gathered some Christmas-y photos from my walks around the neighborhood which I hope you’ll enjoy.
And music for scrolling through them!
See if you can pick up some of the culture, dialect, and love of nature in the lyrics to this Appalachian Christmas carol.
“I Wonder as I Wander”
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
how Jesus the Savior did come for to die
for poor, orn’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
…wandering, in mild enough weather
for a winter stroll
When Mary birthed Jesus, ’twas in a cow’s stall
with wise men and farmers and shepherd and all.
but high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,
and the promise of ages it did then recall.
…similar rural lifestyle to the first Christmas
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 for to sing,
he surely could have it, ’cause he was the King.
…“wee”, evidence of Scotch-Irish immigration
to the Appalachians in 1700s
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
how Jesus the Savior did come for to die
for poor or’nry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
…simple, humble (“orn’ry” means disagreeable)
I like this song. It is humble, simple, unhurried, and written in the natural dialect of this area.
The story goes that in 1933 John Jacob Niles heard a short song sung on a street corner by a simple little girl. Annie Morgan offered to sing it in exchange for a quarter per performance.
Here is a sweet, relaxing rendition of I Wonder as I Wander, performed by High Road Music. Enjoy!
Happily Writing 