I Know Where I'm Going
I Know Where I'm Going
Folk Song
I know where I'm going
And I know who's going with me
I know who I love
And the dear knows who I'll marry.
I have stockings of silk
And shoes of bright green leather
Combs to buckle my hair
And a ring for every finger.
Some say he's black*
But I say he's bonnie
The fairest of them all
My handsome winsome Johnny.
Feather beds are soft
And painted rooms are bonny
But I would leave them all
To go with my love my Johnny.
I know where I'm going
And I know who's going with me
I know who I love
But the dear knows who I'll marry.
Notes
*We believe this is referring to his hair color though there are alternate interpretations. Roy Davison wrote what he believes it means: "For what it's worth, with regard to your footnote on 'black,' the best explanation I found when I researched the song was: This refers to being dark from doing manual labour in the sun, a mark of poverty. Thus I 'translated' it in my mp3 version as 'Some say that he's poor.'"
Many thanks to Roy Davison for sharing his recording of "I Know Where I'm Going". Here's what he wrote about his version, "By way of explanation, it was my purpose to 'translate' the original into more understandable contemporary language, and also of course to adapt it to my 'fairy tale' about its origin." You can hear Roy's 'fairy tale' about the song at this link.
Thanks!
Thanks!
