Wayfaring Stranger

Poor Wayfaring Stranger is a traditional folk song of unknown origin. There are many and varied opinions as to its origin. Some of the theories include Appalachian Folk, Old Irish, and Catskills Folk. One theory is that it originates from the Negro Spirituals and there was a deliberate concealment of the songs origins. Clearly the song is of a spiritual nature as the Wayfaring Stranger sings of the hardships of his temporal life passing by and speaks of his journeying on to a better place. I wanted this song to have a heavy beat, like the hard march of work; with layers of vocals suggesting many laborers. Towards the end there are anvil strikes to bring this home.