I Can’t Help but Wonder Where I’m Bound written by Tom Paxton But oh my goodness, is it transformative. Comment by a fans: When Tom Paxton sang “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound,” it was about a young man looking ahead to where his life might take him. Johnny Cash, his voice almost gone, looks back over a long life that he knows is just about over. He’s regretful and resigned and without a trace of fear, but … he can’t help but wonder where he’s bound. I don’t know if I would really have understood it when I was young, but now that most of my life is behind me rather than ahead, it pierces me like few other songs do. This is the best live recording I have ever come across. The ecstatic screaming at the beginning lets you know that something special is going to happen. Carole King [who wrote and first performed the song] and James Taylor both perform the song admirably. However, Donny’s fever-dream delivery is otherworldly. The audience brings a supernatural energy as they half-sing, half-shout the chorus and interject with wild yelps. This song is proof of a “higher power” at work. There is simply no rational explanation for such a transcendent performance.
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
