I'm really glad to have run across this website. My father used to sing this to my siblings and I when we were small, but I could never remember any lyrics beyond the first verse. I want to pass the tradition along to my own children. I can see now that my father put his own twist on this song to make it more fun for us kids. There was a little bit in the middle where the preacher spoke to the bear three times & each time the bear would reply with a growl, which was of course the part where us kids would join in. It certainly is interesting to find out more about the authors and composers of this song to know where its true roots lie. But I still like the version my daddy sang best, simply for sentimental reasons. :)