History
There are several attributions for the authorship of this song. The oldest known print edition is in the 1911 Church of God hymnal Select Hymns for Christian Worship and General Gospel Service;[1] its only attribution is "Arr. B. E. W.", referring to the hymnal editor Barney E. Warren.[2]
In 1937 the Stamps-Baxter Music Company included the song in their Starlit Crown collection[3] and several subsequent collections. The Stamps-Baxter version was set to a new musical arrangement by Gospel composer and publisher J. R. Baxter, and was initially credited "As sung by the Burnette Sisters".[2] W. B. Stephens, a Church of God preacher, heard the song on the radio and contacted Stamps-Baxter claiming to be the author of the song. After further correspondence, Stamps-Baxter credited Stephens as the song's author in subsequent publications.[4] Most versions of the song published today use the Stamps-Baxter arrangement and also credit Stephens as the song's author.[2]
In 2008, a user named James Greer posted an alternative history of the song on Wikisource. He claimed that his grandfather, an itinerant preacher named W. A. Fletcher, wrote the song while travelling in the Indian Territories near the end of 1911. According to Greer, Fletcher wrote the song as a reflection of his sadness that he would not be present for the birth of his first-born child, as he felt his priorities were with his mission to the Indian Territories. J. R. Baxter was sitting next to Fletcher on the train, and was quite taken with the lyrics; he offered Fletcher $2.00 for them and then had them put to music.[5] This version of the song's origin was copied to Wikipedia without further citation, and from there became commonly accepted across the Internet.[2]
Other people who have been credited with authorship of the song include W. E. Lindsey (Eureka Sacred Carols, 1921) and W. P. Jay (Sing Out!, 1960s).[2]
