Odum and Johnson, The Negro and His Songs (1925) have the following. Clearly the song framework traces back to join the "Mister Rabbit" lyric family.

Note one less than the usual three repetitions of the first line in both "This Mornin'" and "Brer Rabbit.".

THIS MORNIN', THIS EVENIN', SO SOON

Went up town wid my hat in my han' dis mornin'
Went up town wid my hat in my han',
"Good mornin', Judge, done killed my man,"
This mornin', this evenin', so soon.

"I didn't quite kill him, but I fixed him so...
He won't bodder wid me no mo''' ...

All I want is my strong hand-out ...
It will make me strong and stout ...

When you kill a chicken, save me the feet ...
When you think I'm workin', I'm walkin' the street ...

When you kill a chicken, save me the whang ...
When you think I'm workin' I ain't doin' a thang ...

Taint no use me workin' so ...
'Cause I ain't goin' ter work no mo' ...

I'm goin' back to Tennessee ...
Where dem wimmins git stuck on me ...

to the same framework Odum and Johnson give

BRER RABBIT

O Brer Rabbit! you look mighty good ...
Yes, by God! you better take to the wood ...

O Brer Rabbit! yo' ears mighty long ...
Yes, by God! dey's put in wrong ...

O Brer Rabbit! yo' tail mighty white ...
Yes, by God! yer better take to flight ...

Carl Sandburg (1927) followed this up with "Tell Ol' Bill" within a couple of years. The first commercial recordings were "Ain't No Use Workin' So Hard" by the Carolina Tar Heels, "Red Hot Breakdown" by Earl Johnson and His Clodhoppers, 1927.

"How Many Biscuits Can You Eat" was first recorded by Dr. Humphrey Bate in 1928. The song is also related to "Settin' in the Chimney Jamb":

Old maid settin' in the chimney jamb, this mornin' ...
If that ain't a hot place, I'll be damn' ...

I don't know how the "Tell Ol' Bill" story originated, but Sandburg says he got it from "Nancy Barnhart, painter and etcher, of St. Louis." That's also where "Frankie and Johnny" originated. Because of its relative sophistication, I'm betting the "Tell Ol' Bill" story may have started as a bordello song. But its origin is still a mystery.