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THE HAPPY WANDERER

(learned from the Hit Parade in the 1950s)

I love to go a-wand'ring along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing, my knapsack on my back.
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, valdi-ree, valdi-rah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, 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.
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, valdi-ree, valdi-rah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, 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 every greenwood tree.
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, valdi-ree, valdi-rah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, From every greenwood 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.
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, valdi-ree, valdi-rah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, as o'er the world we roam.

Oh, may I go a-wand'ring until the day I die,
Oh, may I always laugh and sing beneath God's clear blue sky.
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, valdi-ree, valdi-rah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!
    Valdi-ree, valdi-rah, beneath God's clear blue sky.

(from miriam berg's folksong collection)