The song was written by US recording professionals Arthur Fields (words) and Fred Hall (music) and copyrighted in April 1930. The first recordings were by Vernon Dalhart (for several labels, 1929–30) and John I. White, a.k.a. the Lone Star Ranger, whose UK Imperial 78 of the song is referred to above.

Recorded in February 1931 by a Fields-Hall-and-friends group billed as the Colt Brothers, it was issued in the US on Melotone and in the UK on Panachord. On the back of its UK popularity, numerous other Colt Brothers 78s were released on Panachord over the next few years, including "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" Parts 3 & 4.