The Happy Wanderer

The Happy Wanderer

I love to go a-wandering, 

Along the mountain track, 

And as I go, 

I love to sing, 

My knapsack on my back.

Chorus:

Val-deri,Val-dera,

Val-deri,Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha 

Val-deri,Val-dera. 

My knapsack on my back.

I love to wander by the stream 

That dances in the sun, 

So joyously it calls to me, 

"Come! Join my happy song!"

I wave my hat to all I meet, 

And they wave back to me, 

And blackbirds call so loud and sweet 

From ev'ry green wood tree.

High overhead, the skylarks wing, 

They never rest at home 

But just like me, 

they love to sing, 

As o'er the world we roam.

Oh, may I go a-wandering 

Until the day I die! 

Oh, may I always laugh and sing, 

Beneath God's clear blue sky!

Whenever I walk in the woods, this song always goes through my head, and I love to sing it, although I never have a knapsack on my back.

I recently went to Yellowwood State Forest near Brown County, Indiana, had a lovely walk and took lots of pictures.

I have a childhood memory of walking in the woods at Holladay Park with Aunt Agnes, who always led a group of cousins in singing "The Happy Wanderer". And she knew all the words.

Upon a little research, "The Happy Wanderer" was written by Friedrich-Wilhem Moller in Germany shortly after World War II, but it was made popular by a recording of The Obernkirchen Children's Choir in 1954.

The End