Dion – The Wanderer

About The Song

“The Wanderer” is a track composed by Ernie Maresca and originally performed by Dion. Featuring a 12-bar blues-based verse and an eight-bar bridge, the song narrates the tale of a traveling man and his numerous romances. Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranks the song at #243.

Maresca, who had co-written Dion’s previous #1 hit, “Runaround Sue,” initially intended “The Wanderer” for another group, Nino and the Ebbtides. However, they chose a different Maresca song, prompting Dion to adopt it as the B-side of his subsequent single, “The Majestic,” a selection made by his record company. Radio DJs flipped the record and favored “The Wanderer,” leading it to enter the US charts in December 1961 and climb to #2 in early 1962. The song also achieved #10 in the UK and claimed the top spot in Australia.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXqWCeB8Vto

Lyric

 Oh, well, I’m the type of guy who will never settle down
Where pretty girls are, well, you know that I’m around
I kiss ’em and I love ’em ’cause to me they’re all the same
I hug ’em and I squeeze ’em they don’t even know my name

They call me the wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

Oh, well, there’s Flo on my left and there’s Mary on my right
And Janie is the girl, well, that I’ll be with tonight
And when she asks me, which one I love the best?
I tear open my shirt and I show her “Rosie” on my chest

‘Cause I’m a wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

Oh, well, I roam from town to town
I go through life without a care
And I’m as happy as a clown
I with my two fists of iron but I’m going nowhere

I’m the type of guy that likes to roam around
I’m never in one place, I roam from town to town
And when I find myself fallin’ for some girl
Yeah, I hop right into that car of mine, I drive around the world

Yeah I’m a wanderer
Yeah, a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

Oh yeah, I’m the type of guy that likes to roam around
I’m never in one place, I roam from town to town
And when I find myself a-fallin’ for some girl
I hop right into that car of mine and drive around the world

‘Cause I’m a wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

Yeah, I’m the wanderer
Yeah, I’m a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

They call me the wanderer
Yeah, I’m a wanderer
I roam around, around, around, around

Guitar chord

D / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / /
I'm the type of guy who never settles down
Where pretty girls are, you'll know that I'm around
  G 
I kiss 'em and I love 'em 'cause to me they're all the same
  D 
I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em, they don't even know my name
                 A               G 
They call me the Wanderer, yeah, Wanderer
       D 
I roam round and round and round and round

Verse 2:
There's Flo on my left and there's Mary on my right
And Janie is the girl that I'll be with tonight
And when she asks me which one I love the best
I tear open my shirt and show Rosie on my chest
'Cause I'm the Wanderer, yeah, Wanderer
I roam round and round and round and round

Bridge:
        A 
Well, I roam from town to town
Live life without a care
I'm as happy as a clown
        B7                      A7 
With my 2 fists of iron but I'm goin' nowhere

Verse 3:
I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around
I'm never in one place; I roam from town to town
And when I find myself a-fallin' for some girl
I hop right into that car of mine and drive around the world
'Cause I'm the Wanderer, yeah, Wanderer
I roam round and round and round and round

(instrumental; same pattern as verses)

(repeat verse 3, then repeat last 2 lines and fade)