Donna Summer

Released: September 20, 1980

Songwriter: Giorgio Moroder Donna Summer

Producer: Pete Bellotte Giorgio Moroder

[Verse 1:]
Woke up this morning
Dragged myself across the bed
Alice went to Wonderland
But I stayed home instead

I started feeling bad
Cause I was left behind
Cause I'm a wanderer
Oh, yes
I'm a wanderer

She climbed right through the mirror
Oh, that really blew my mind
I think I'll follow through
Her rhythm and her rhyme

I know I'm ready now
It's just a little time
Cause I'm a wanderer
I'm a wanderer

[Chorus:]
Cause I'm a wanderer
I travel every place
Cause I'm a wanderer
From here to outer space

Cause I'm a wanderer
Got no time
Cause I'm a wanderer
Just a wanderer

[Verse 2:]
Slipped down the back stair on my toes
Then out the door
They didn't hear
Now they won't see me anymore
Cause I'm

Can't take
That 9:00 to 5:00 life
It's a bore
Cause I'm a wanderer
Just a wanderer

And so it's up and out
And on and off the road
Won't have no troubles
Cause the whole world is my home

No need to worry
Cause I seldom am alone
Cause I'm wanderer
I'm a wanderer

[Repeat Chorus:]

'cause I'm a wanderer
I travel every place
'cause I'm a wanderer
From here to outer space
'cause I'm wanderer
Got no time
Cause I'm a wanderer
Just a wanderer

[Bridge:]
Now you may see me
Any time and any place
And you may know me
From the same look on your face

And I don't know if
I could change your frame of mind
Cause I'm a wanderer
Just a wanderer

[Repeat Chorus:]

Cause I'm a wanderer
Cause I'm a wanderer
Cause I'm a wanderer

As the unquestioned queen of disco, the one and only Donna Summer lit up the late 70s and 80s with flashy, exuberant vocals and automatic earworms. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on Dec. 31, 1948, Summer moved to Germany after being cast in a Munich production of Hair. There, she happened to meet Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and the trio conglomerated to form a dynamic music team. With Moroder, Summer forged together her first album, The Hostage, which reached moderate success in Northern Europe. Summer’s big break, however, would come later with the release of 1975’s sexual “Love to Love You Baby”, which became one of disco’s first mainstream hits and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.

1977 came around with the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which featured the Top 10 single “I Feel Love”. The next year, Summer hit the silver screen with the movie Thank God It’s Friday, whose soundtrack featured one of her own the iconic “Last Dance.” This would later become one of the disco legends' signature songs. “Dance” would take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe, and it jumped to a peak of #3 on the charts.

Yet Summer’s illustrious career was far from finished – Summer’s first live album Live and More featured the single “MacArthur Park”, a melting ballad that was a cover of the Jimmy Webb ballad of the same name. “Park” became Summer’s first – and perhaps most memorable – No. 1 hit, and cemented her status as a vocalist as well as a performer. With the track, she became the first female in modern rock history to hold the top spot in both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. 1979, though, would really be the peak of her career.

more tracks from the album

The Wanderer

From the albums

The Wanderer (1980)
Endless Summer (1994)

Donna Summer popular songs

The WandererDonna Summer

Donna Summer

The Wanderer