I don't know much about the origins of the song, but my mother sang it when I was a kid. She was from Bowden, Georgia. I think of it as being in the southern/mountain gospel tradition. Jean Ritchie printed it, with music, in her autobiography, "Singing Family of the Cumberlands."

Here are her words:

TWILIGHT A-STEALING

Twilight a-stealing, over the sea,
Shadows are falling, dark on the lea,
Borne on the night wind, voices of yore,
Come from the far-off shore.

CHORUS:
    Far away, beyond the starry sky,
    Where the love-light never, never dies
    Gleameth a mansion filled with delight,
    Sweet happy home so bright.

Voices of loved ones, songs of the past,
Still linger round me, while life shall last,
Cheering my pathway while here I roam
Seeking my far-off home. (CHORUS)

Come in the twilight, come, come to me,
Bringing sweet message over the sea.
Lonely I wanter, sadly I roam,
Seeking my far-off home. (CHORUS)

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Click to play (joeweb)