This song was recorded by Roy Harvey (as Roy Harper) and Earl Shirkey at Johnson City, TN, 18 Oct 1928, and released on Columbia 15326-D. Harvey sings, and Shirkey does vaudeville yodeling between verses. Official title is "When the Roses Bloom Again for the Bootlegger." So far as is known, the song was composed by Harvey. There were a number of contemporary covers, including Earl Johnson and his Dixie Clodhoppers, Asa Martin, and Carson Robison (with Frank Luther), but all known recordings derive from that of Harvey and Shirkey, as do all known folklore collections.

Note that the song begins with a dialogue between Harvey and Shirkey, about their moonshiner friend Bill (the subject of the song), in which they address each other as "Roy" and "Earl." Same dialogue intro is used in the Carson Robison-Frank Luther version, with the boys calling each other "Roy" and "Earl."