Wayfaring Stranger

by Burl Ives

First published in 1948, this autobiography from Burl Ives, whom Carl Sandberg calls “the greatest folk ballad singer of them all,” is as fresh and wholesome as a summer’s breeze out of an Illinois cornfield. His ballads have long been an authentic expression of his land and its people—songs his grandmother taught him in the Midwestern farm country, songs remembered by old-timers in small towns all over the land, songs he heard hobos singing—songs we have come to know and love.

In Wayfaring Stranger, writing in the stirring imaginative language of the ballad, Burt Ives tells of a night spent in a haystack with a pig, and of a brief fight with a railroad cop on top of a boxcar. He hitched a ride with Al Capone’s master bootlegger; he barely escaped the clutches of an old maid in Maine; he fell in love on a Great Lakes steamer; he played for evangelists and politicians; in speakeasies and public parks. Always he listened to the people, and he learned their songs. Anywhere he could get an audience, he sang his ballads: Barbara Allen, The Riddle Song, Fair Eleanor, Old Smokey, Silver Dagger, Foggy Foggy Dew.

Now in Wayfaring Stranger, he has written his own story—as warm and appealing as the songs he sings.

“It’s a fine book, warm, and full-bided, like Burl himself. Burl gives the reader the combination which is in everything he sings: a sense of dignity without pretentiousness, of simplicity without sentimentality. He makes the folk feeling richly alive. Some of his little character sketches remind me of the unforgettable etchings in Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg. In short, Burl tells stories just the way he plays and sings—naturally, unaffectedly, poignantly.”—Louis Untermeyer

Genres: Biography

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2005

Reviews

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very honest autobiography from the author's childhood to his first major breakthrough into show business in 1945. The writing is very folksy when he is describing his family and his younger days. The anecdotes are somewhat Tom Sawyer-ish, the pranks, jokes, tussles with schoolboy rivals, crushes and embarrassments. However, as Mr. Ives begins growing up so does the prose. While his love affairs may be short on carnality, he does not hide from their existence or their emotional ups and downs. He describes dropping out of formal education - several times - for a life on the road. Singing for his supper and a bed for the night, quite literally.

That part of the book was the highlight for me. Living as a hobo, riding the freight trains, meeting a variety of people, friendly or hostile, occasionally exploitative, until he eventually sees the possibility of a future for himself singing the folk ballads he loved. Some things are missing: his war years 1940-1945, any serious attitudes he may have had regarding race and racial equality, and his left wing political feelings are glossed over. He mentions briefly his support for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War and his opposition to fascism. However, from this book one gets the impression that he was not strongly motivated by politics. His later activities with the House Un-American Activities Committee came after this volume was written.

Overall it is well expressed in a friendly, chatty style. Not quite warts and all as a personal memoir. Mr. Ives' descriptions of growing up in a small Midwest community offer more life and liveliness than some parts of his life story. Nevertheless it is a pleasing easy read for those who remember Big Rock Candy Mountain and Blue-Tailed Fly.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not what I expected in terms of content or style, but an interesting (and at times, surprising) read, nonetheless.

Although this is not a typical autobiography (it's more of a collection of stories told by Ives about other people he knew and his experiences with them) the reader probably gets a truer sense of who Burl Ives was in terms of personality and character than a traditional autobiography would provide.

[Randall T. Karnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read from a simpler time.

If you have ever heard Burl Ives sing and wanted to know more about the man behind the voice, this is the book for you.

[Mirella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wayfaring Stranger is set during the Great Depression in the state of Texas. A young boy, Weldon Holland, lives with his mentally ill mother and grandfather. At an early age, he meets Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as they hid out on his grandfather's property. Haunted by Bonnie's beauty, and when his grandfather shot at their fleeing vehicle, he never forget this encounter as it helped shape his future. As Weldon matures he leaves Texas to fight in World War II and in a concentration camp, he rescues a woman named Rosita, whom he falls in love with her, and after losing contact, he sets out to search for her again, and marries her, unaffected by her Jewish / Communist background. Together, they set up their lives in Texas.

Weldon meets the wealthy businessman Roy Wiseheart, recognized as a war hero despite the questionable circumstances. Their liaison with Roy and his wife Clara, sets of a dramatic chain of events that snowballed with each page and kept me gripping the edge of my seat until the very satisfying ending. Every character is highly complex, larger than life, with profoundly detailed backstories. Astounding dialogue, myriad twists and turns, multiple shocks and surprises, an endearing love story, and brilliant prose kept me so thrilled that I did not want to put the book down.

James Lee Burke is a talented author and he's written a book that has it all! It is very much a story about right and wrong, of standing by one's personal convictions, and of always being wary of strangers and their motives. Truly, this book is so visual, it plays out like a gripping movie. Very highly recommended!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars but I think it would have been better if I had not read any of the Dave Robicheaux books first. Weldon was Dave and Rosita was his current wife. It was like he put Dave in another man's story. I cannot deny the writing was very good. I found it very difficult to put down after about the first 100 pages. The first 100 pages I was making too many comparisons between Weldon and Dave. After I let that go, I really enjoyed this book.

It definitely made you think about what could have happened if you were thrown in these kind os situations. You also need to have a dictionary handy as some of the words were not those used by most people. But that is fine with me as I always enjoy learning new words.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burl Ives' surprisingly lusty autobiography, which ends before his House Un-American Activities Committee name-naming in the 1950s. (And WELL before he became an animated snowman.)

[E M]

From Julia

[Nancy Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[patricia]

James Lee Burke's writing is phenomenal.