I Know Where I'm Going (folk song)
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"I Know Where I'm Going" is a traditional Scottish (some sources say Irish) ballad about a wealthy love-struck young woman pining for her "bonnie" lover Johnny who some say has a bad reputation.[1][2] It has been noted since the early nineteenth century.[3] It is Roud number 5701.
In some versions the lover is said to be 'black'.[4] This may refer to him being an outlaw or of bad reputation.
The song contains the refrain[5]
I know where I'm going
I know who's going with me
I know who I love
The devil/dear knows who I'll marry
Among traditional singers and "folk revivalists", the term in the fourth line is often pronounced “deil”, an old Scots version of “devil” (as in Robert Burns's “The Deil’s awa' wi' the Exciseman”[6]), of which "dear" is likely a corruption.
