The Happy Wanderer

Common card · No. 384710

"The Happy Wanderer" ("Der fröhliche Wanderer" or "Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann") is a popular song. The original text was written by Florenz Friedrich Sigismund (1791–1877). The present tune was composed by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller shortly after World War II. The work is often mistaken for a German folk song, but it is an original composition. Möller's sister Edith conducted a small amateur children's and youth choir in the district of Schaumburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, internationally named Obernkirchen Children's Choir, in Germany named Schaumburger Märchensänger. She adapted Sigismund's words for her choir. In 1953, a BBC radio broadcast of the choir's winning performance at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod turned the song into an instant hit. On 22 January 1954 the song entered the UK singles chart and stayed on the chart—only a Top 12 at the time—for 26 non-consecutive weeks, peaking at Number 2 (for five consecutive weeks). Another version by the British vocal ensemble...

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