Wanderer, Where Are You Going
Ismail Karabila
emotional
female vocals
folk
tone
poetic
world
Traditional Folk
Traditional North African folk with hand percussion
oud
and airy flute; female vocals in a low
smoky register
verses carried by intimate storytelling
chorus swelling with call-and-response group harmonies and communal claps
subtle frame drum builds tension toward the final refrain then fades to a bare vocal outro
Creada el feb. 3, 2026
Letra
[Verse 1]
Wanderer
Where are you going
Eyes on a road with no end
Chasing a promise of golden streets
Leaving behind every friend
You think the sea hides a treasure
You think the sky’s kinder there
But salt water sharpens the sorrow
And foreign winds do not care
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same hungry morning
The same long shadow and lack
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before your footprints all fade
The world turns circles around you
Your heart is the one that stays
[Verse 2]
You say
“One day I’ll come shining
Hands full of gifts
Pockets wide”
But who will wait at your doorway
When all the old faces have died?
You’ll walk through bright
Crowded markets
No one will speak your first name
You’ll laugh the loudest at strangers’ jokes
Then go to an empty room
The same
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same tired evening
The same hard pillow and lack
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before your memories fray
The road grows older and colder
Your heart is the one that pays
[Bridge]
I have seen ports full of leaving
I have seen trains never slow
Men with their dreams in a bundle
Women with eyes made of snow
Each one swore
“I’ll be happy
Once I step over that line”
Years passed by
Only their letters came
Stained with a rust-colored brine
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same crooked questions
The same thin coin in your hand
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before the daylight decays
The world keeps changing around you
Your heart is the one that stays
[Outro]
So if you must
Keep on walking
I will not tie down your feet
But know: the storm you are fleeing
Waits at the next crowded street
Wanderer
When you grow weary
When every promise turns stone
Remember this voice in the distance
Calling you softly back home
Wanderer
Where are you going
Eyes on a road with no end
Chasing a promise of golden streets
Leaving behind every friend
You think the sea hides a treasure
You think the sky’s kinder there
But salt water sharpens the sorrow
And foreign winds do not care
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same hungry morning
The same long shadow and lack
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before your footprints all fade
The world turns circles around you
Your heart is the one that stays
[Verse 2]
You say
“One day I’ll come shining
Hands full of gifts
Pockets wide”
But who will wait at your doorway
When all the old faces have died?
You’ll walk through bright
Crowded markets
No one will speak your first name
You’ll laugh the loudest at strangers’ jokes
Then go to an empty room
The same
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same tired evening
The same hard pillow and lack
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before your memories fray
The road grows older and colder
Your heart is the one that pays
[Bridge]
I have seen ports full of leaving
I have seen trains never slow
Men with their dreams in a bundle
Women with eyes made of snow
Each one swore
“I’ll be happy
Once I step over that line”
Years passed by
Only their letters came
Stained with a rust-colored brine
[Chorus]
Oh wanderer
Where are you going
Carrying a home on your back
You’ll find the same crooked questions
The same thin coin in your hand
Oh wanderer
Come sit beside me
Before the daylight decays
The world keeps changing around you
Your heart is the one that stays
[Outro]
So if you must
Keep on walking
I will not tie down your feet
But know: the storm you are fleeing
Waits at the next crowded street
Wanderer
When you grow weary
When every promise turns stone
Remember this voice in the distance
Calling you softly back home