‘Come Wander with Me’: Season 5, Episode 34
Published October 16, 2026
SPOILER WARNING: Watch the episode before reading here.
Before we get started, there is something I would like to share: this Halloween at 6pm, I will be getting together with The Dare to Love Project to do a “Live - in the Zone” event. Join us for some spooky episodes of the Twilight Zone canon. Feel free to contact me for address!
Now, back to the matter at hand!
…
In our AI-driven world, many people have stopped relying on their own creativity and instead leaned on electronic minds to create for them. If you use AI for advice or inspiration but the final creation is ultimately your own, I think that’s perfectly reasonable. However, if AI creates something for you, whether you take the credit or not, that becomes a different story. To me, that is truly heartbreaking—especially in music, because it is the fruit of the human soul. Without human breath, music cannot breathe life.
A vocalist’s search for the right song has endured through every generation, and each generation has found its own answer. Songwriters and ghostwriters have long used their very human creativity to bridge that gap for artists, but when an artist takes that work and gives the writer no credit, a real problem emerges.
Amid these controversial discussions, we can find an unexpected connection to The Twilight Zone. Who better than the son of Bing Crosby, Gary Crosby to play the conflicted singer, Floyd Burney, in this episode?
Burney, or the Rock-a-Billy Kid as his fans might refer to him as, pulls up to a spot in the country road where the bridge is slightly damaged. His car cannot drive over it, so he walks out, crosses over it, and begins his journey into the Twilight Zone. In many ways, he will never be able to undo what he just did.
There are a few reasons this episode is so creepy, but I don’t want to reveal any spoilers… yet.
To truly appreciate how haunting and eerie this episode is, you have to at least listen to it. The audio is the cherry on top that makes this episode very unsettling. At least listen to the song here.
With that in mind, let’s get in the Zone!
In Search of a Song
Wandering into a run-down, barn-like country store filled with musical instruments, Burney makes himself at home. This is the place where, rumor has it, musicians go to meet the music man of this part of the country. Burney arrogantly bosses the old man around. I’m sure this is going to go well for him.
The man tells Burney that he has no song for him. Burney tries all sorts of tricks to get the old man to give him something, but the man keeps saying no. One phrase he says though strikes me as a warning: “I’ve got nothing you want here.” … Now what does he mean by that? Burney hears a woman humming an unfamiliar folk song, but the old man acts like he doesn’t hear it. Ignoring the old man’s warning stare, Burney wanders to find that humming woman in the woods.
The camera zooms in on a tombstone in the woods reading, “Mr. Floyd Burney - the Wandering Man.” Oh, oh! Here comes Serling. This can’t be good.
Serling: “Mr. Floyd Burney, a gentleman songster in search of song, is about to answer the age-old question of whether a man can be in two places at the same time. As far as his folk song is concerned, we can assure Mr. Burney he'll find everything he's looking for, although the lyrics may not be all to his liking. But that's sometimes the case when the words and music are recorded - in The Twilight Zone.”
Things are about to get weird.
A woman in a black robe covering her head lingers in the background. Who is she? I think google can give us some ideas:
“Folklore and supernatural traditions: In Appalachian and U.S. folklore, the ‘Woman in Black’ is a supernatural figure who appears to men who have committed moral transgressions, warning them to return home or face consequences. In other traditions, she is seen as the ghost of a widowed woman mourning her loss, or as a spirit of protection who warns of impending danger. These stories often link her to themes of mourning, justice, and moral retribution.
“Literary and artistic archetypes: In literature and art, the ‘Lady in Black’ is a universal archetype tied to death, fate, and transformation. She can symbolize the unconscious mind, repressed desires, or the ‘shadow self’ in Jungian terms, prompting the protagonist to confront inner fears. In Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, she is a vengeful spirit seeking justice, blending themes of grief, guilt, and the boundary between life and death.”
Best we keep an eye on her.
We meet another women in the woods, Mary Rachel, the one who was recently humming. Mary Rachel watches — correction: stalks — Burney as he sits down. He begins to play the tune she hummed by ear on his guitar. Time for Google again!
“When combined, Mary Rachel carries the imagery of ‘sea of sorrow’ (Mary) + ‘ewe’ (Rachel).”
A lamb in the midst of a sea of sorrow…how interesting.
Burney asks Mary Rachel (MR) how the song goes, their conversation gets interesting.
MR: “That song is secret, it belongs to somebody.”
Burney: “It can’t belong to anybody, nobody can buy it, it’s public domain! Who got to you?”
MR: “They made me promise not to sing it anymore.”
Burney: “Who made you promise not to sing it again?”
MR: “The Rayford Brothers”
[…]
Burney [forcing MR to sit down with the guitar]: “Can you let me hear a little bit of it, just one chorus?”
Smiling gleefully, she begins to play.
The Song
It’s worth taking a moment to read the lyrics to this haunting song. Listen to the song here.
“He said come wander with me love
Come wander with me
Away from this sad world
Come wander with me
He came from the sunset
He came from the sea
He came from my sorrow
And can love only me”
See the terms “sea” and “sorrow.” There is something there. Here is another interesting thing about Mary Rachel in this song: she is played by Bonnie Beecher. Anyone recognize who she is? We’ll let Google tell us more about her.
“Bonnie Beecher (born Bonnie Jean Boettcher on April 25, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American retired actress, activist, and singer. She is also known professionally as Jahanara Romney after marrying Wavy Gravy (Hugh Romney) in 1967. Beecher met Bob Dylan during his early career in Minnesota; they dated briefly in college and she is believed to have inspired Dylan’s 1960 song Girl from the North Country, though Dylan has also suggested it may have been about other people. She recorded some of Dylan’s earliest performances in her Minneapolis home, and her voice appears on the 1960 Minneapolis Party Tape bootleg.”
Back to Burney, who is back to his old tricks trying to buy that song from MR. “Laying on the charm, thick,” he says:
Burney: “Honey, anything can be bought. It's a buyer's market, with a price tag on everything. All you got to know is just how to find the tag.”
Burney transposes the song and sings it for MR, who looks slightly twitterpated. Does Burney catch feelings, or is this a trick? He promises to take her away far from this sad world. She asks, “and you would love only me?” He agrees, they kiss and cuddle, and the woman in black watches … I smell danger. The Twilight Zone added some lyrics:
Oh where is the wanderer
Who wandered this way?
He's past all his wandering
And will never go away
Come wander with me, love
Come wander with me
Away from this sad world
Come wander with me.
He sang of a sweet love
Of dreams that would be
But I was sworn to another
And could never be free.
Yep, this can’t be good.
Burney asks her for the story of the song, and she says something peculiar: “It’s the story of my love. I love you, I’ve always loved you.” Dude, you better pay attention Burney, something is going on. How has she always loved you? More lyrics are added:
“The Rayfords were brothers
Four men tall and bold
And for one I was chosen
With my love still untold”
Run Burney, run! Why isn’t he running?
“They heard of the wanderer
They heard he loved me.
They heard…”
We don’t get to hear the end of those lyrics, not yet.
The End of It
Billy Rayford is coming through the bushes, and Burney suggests that MR goes home to grab some of her things. She exclaims, “but you promised you would buy me things!” Oh no, a tale as old as time: guy makes fake promises to get what he wants than brushes the girl aside when he gets it. In this case, rather than sex, Burney wanted to record her song so he could do it on the radio later. Something tells me Billy isn’t going to let him get away with that. Good riddance!
Burney: So you're one of the Rayford brothers, huh?
Rayford: I know you. You're the singing man, aint ya?
Burney: Yeah! Yeah, that's me, Floyd Burney! Yeah, I sing a little.
Rayford: Hear you the one that's been taking out after Mary Rachel.
Burney: Mary Rachel?
[acting confused]
Rayford: Don't lie. I seen you. Folks heard you sugar talking about taking her to Norfolk.
Burney: Norfolk? What do I want to take anybody to Norfolk for?
They get into a fight, and it gets ugly. Remember those interrupted lyrics from earlier? Burney’s recording devise plays them back now.
You killed Billy Rayford
Bespoke unto me
Struck him down in his anger
Neath an old willow tree
By the lake where our love dwelled
Neath an old willow tree
You killed Billy Rayford
Neath an old willow tree
How did this song, how did she know that was going to happen? Burney, clearly full of character, smashes his recorder. He confronts her, asking the same questions I did. Her response? “It always happens that way.” WHAT? She adds more words of comfort saying, “if you run, they’ll catch you, you know that.” She suggests hiding him, that way they can always be together. Aww, sweet? Oh no, here comes some more singing, when will this song end?
They sought out their brother
And found him alone
They wept by the lakeside
For a boy hardly grown
They wept by the lakeside
And vowed he must die
The wandering stranger
“Don’t run, don’t run,” MR says. Then she turns into the woman in black, “I’ll always love you!” Burney ignores her and runs back to the shop with the old man. Burney offers to pay him, and he says, “it’s too late.” Again, Burney of great character kills the old man. This song is seriously getting out of hand!
Despite how preventable it was, the Rayfords find Burney and…well, you know.
Rod Serling closes the episode by taking us back to the grave.
Serling: “In retrospect, it may be said of Mr. Floyd Burney that he achieved that final dream of the performer: eternal top-name billing. Not on the fleeting billboards of the entertainment world, but forever recorded among the folk songs of The Twilight Zone.”
Remember dear friends and fans of The Twilight Zone, music is powerful. We have a choice in how we use it’s power. Let’s use it for good! Let us be careful of where we seek fame, or we might end up in the twilight zone.
Watch the episode here.