"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles.

[1][5] In his unpublished autobiography, he wrote of hearing the song: A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile.

[2][4][5][6]) Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas.

[2] Niles first performed the song on December 19, 1933, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina.

[4][6] Niles's "folk composition" process caused confusion among singers and listeners, many of whom believed this song to be anonymous in origin.

[1] According to academic and theologian Ian Bradley, the "clean, haunting melody ... maintains the open-air atmosphere and sense of wistful wandering conjured up in the first line.

[13] A notable recent choral setting by Swiss composer Carl Rütti, with the original words and an entirely new melody, has been performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel, University of Cambridge.