I THINK I first heard a version of this song in the late 1940's. WWVA (the friendly voice of Wheeling West Virginia) carried commercials for plastic dashboard statuettes of Jesus (along with bullet proof bibles, and glow-in-the-dark Last Supper plastic tablecloths), and the lyrics struck a chord. As far as I know, Mr. Marrs added some verses of his own, and, as was the common practice of the day, copyrighted it.