My family has been singing a version of this song for over 100 years, brought the old song with them when they settled in southeast new mexico, eddy county. Where it came from I have no clue, my uncle learned it from his mom, she sang it to him as a baby, he learned to play it on a cross tuned fiddle as a young man, where he picked up the habit of cross tuning nobody knows cause his dad played straight tuned but he definitely had everyone in awe anytime he picked that fiddle up and started sawing that tune out on it.