I just now saw this quote attributed to Albert Camus on a website…which quite mystifies me. See, I remember as a little kid singing in junior choir at temple a song with these words. Is the quote misattributed, or were we singing Camus in the guise of a traditional Jewish prayer all this time?
I have no idea.
However, I can say that those words were used by a Miss South Carolina circa 1971. I just figured she had made them up on her own. Guess I’ve been wrong for three decades.
The Quotations Page attributes the quotation to Camus, without identifying a source in his writings, as do many other online sources. But the quotation is also identified as an “Irish blessing”, or attributed to an unknown author.
To further muddy the waters, this site attributes it to the Ute tribe of American Indians, this site attributes it to George Sand, and yes, it is listed among favorite Jewish camp songs.
As an aside, the search on this subject reminded me what a vast wasteland of glurge is out there on the internet, most of which is accompanied by cheesy MIDI files.
“Just walk whereever, and leave me out of it…, unless we bump into each other. Who knows what will happen?” would be more like Camus.