WO'N's post about strangers and saints reminded me of a phrase that keeps cropping up for me: "in the company of strangers." It's the title of a film (I think it was a Canadian film - it was certainly an indie release); it also appears in a couple of my favourite songs:

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
Running scared....(from Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer")

and

I went in search of alchemy to resurrect the dead
Sent my spies to fathom out the secrets in your head
They said they heard your laughter spinning through the summer night
In the company of strangers, and your eyes were wild and bright....(from Al Stewart's "Where Are They Now")

What I'm wondering is, does this phrase have a recognizable, pointable-to origin? I tried looking it up in my Oxford UP Dictionary of Quotations but I got nuthin'. Haven't tried googling it yet but also wonder if others here keep stumbling across it, as I do?

It has a nice poetry to it, yet it's a sort of happy/sad phrase - "company" conveying warmth and togetherness, "strangers" conveying uncertainty and individuality.