With all the discussion of all the different versions, I'm surprised that no one has picked up on one issue alluded to in the original post -- the fact that the same tune used for "Circle" . . .

(or one of the tunes, anyway -- I had never been aware of the two different hymns before this, or the difference between "Can the..." and "Will the...")

. . . is also used for "Glory Glory Hallelulia / When I Lay My Burden Down."

My observation is that "Circle" is generally part of white rural/Southern culture, while "Glory" is pretty much a black-gospel number, very popular as a jazz-funeral march.

It would be nice to learn more lyrics to "Glory/Burden"; I don't know any beyond the two lines shown above as title.

Same melody, same general subject matter (death) -- which came first? I find this very interesting to wonder about, but don't harbor any hope for a definitive answer. I would be very dubious of someone's published claim for credit as the composer, but realize there's not much else to go by.