Sing Out v. 20, 1971, p.5, quotes Rosalie Sorrels "Actually I only wrote the music to this one. I got the words from Olive Burt, author of 'American Murder Ballads and Their Stories'. She learned it from her mother who found it in a book of children's poetry from the early 1800's". It is recorded on a Prestige album, 'Rosalie's Songbag'.