The experts seem to be split on whether the Haverly Minstrel song is the one from which Lead Belly's is derived. Until someone comes up with the sheet music, the derivation is likely to remain uncertain.

At The Traditional Ballad Index, Robert B. Waltz says it is a separate piece. Spaeth commented on similarities and credited it to a Davis, 1892, but what was this? Music with a similar name (and any date) cannot be found at the Library of Congress, Levy or the Brown Univ. Collection of African-American music. Wolfe and Lornell theorize only that there is a similarity and another song may have influenced it.