Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right

"Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" is a gospel blues song recorded in 1930 by Blind Willie Johnson with backing vocals by Willie B. Harris, who may have been his first wife.^[1] The song was released in 1930 on Columbia 14597 as B-side to "Go with Me to That Land".^[2]

"Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right"
Single by Blind Willie Johnson
Released	c. 1930
Recorded	Atlanta, Georgia, April 20, 1930
Genre	Gospel blues
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Unknown

The chorus consists of the lines:

Everybody should treat a stranger right, long ways from home,
Everybody should treat a stranger right, a long way from home.

The verses comment on that idea, notably with reference to the Three Wise Men offering gifts to the Christ-child in the manger.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018, Ry Cooder recorded the song for his album The Prodigal Son.^[3] He commented that it was "one of Blind Willie Johnson’s great songs – he’s the go to guy".^[3]