The Wayfaring Stranger (song)

"The Wayfaring Stranger" (also known as "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" or "I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"), Roud 3339, is a famous American folk and gospel song probably coming from the early 1800s^[1] about a soul on the journey through life. There are many versions of the song. During a period during and several years after the American Civil War, the lyrics were known as the Libby Prison Hymn (named after a Confederate prison).

Notable covers and uses

• In 1935 an arrangement was included in The Sacred Harp shape note songbook.
• It became one of Burl Ives' signature songs, included on his 1944 album The Wayfaring Stranger. Ives used it as the title of his early 1940s CBS radio show and his 1948 autobiography.
• Emmylou Harris covered the song on her 1980 album Roses in the Snow. Harris' version peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.^[2] It reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.^[3]
• Johnny Cash covered the song in his 2000 album American III: Solitary Man.
• Dusty Springfield covered the song on her TV Show.
• Nina Simone covered the song.
• The song is used in the movie 1917.
• The song is sung by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson for The Last of Us Part 2
• In 2006 the group Selah recorded an arrangement of Wayfaring Stranger that included backing vocals in the language from where they were missionary children in Africa. It is found on their Be Still My Soul CD.
• In 2021 the song was covered by Frontier Marshals for their debut album Prayers of the Prairie. It played for the first time on Aug 15, 2021 on True Country 104.9 FM and streams at jackandtrue.com

References

1. Norman Cazden, Herbert Haufrecht, Norman Studer. Folk Songs of the Catskills. SUNY Press, 1982. 292-294. ISBN 0-87395-581-1
2. "Emmylou Harris - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
3. "RPM Country Tracks for August 23, 1980". RPM. Retrieved June 24, 2013.