“The Happy Wanderer”

By Friedrich Wilhelm Möller

(Text by Florenz Friedrich Sisismund)

“The Happy Wanderer“ is often thought to be a German folk song but it is not. It is the original composition of Friedrich Möller. Möller’s sister Edith adapted the Sisismund text to her brother’s music for her amateur children’s choir. After a 1953 BBC radio broadcast the song was an immediate success. The catchy tune can be heard today in many languages. When I finished this violin I knew it would be a gift for my longtime friend MK. An accomplished violinist and teacher she is also an avid birder.

“I wave my hat to all I meet,

And they wave back to me,

And blackbirds call so loud and sweet

From ev’ry 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.”