Origins: Who wrote 'Hummingbird' aka Humming Bird

Subject: RE: Origins: Who wrote 'Hummingbird' aka Humming Bird
From: GUEST,Paul Hazell
Date: 12 Aug 25 - 06:36 PM

thank you. I have the 78 of Johnny Cooper. Hank Williams Jr did a song early on called "Give Me The Hummingbird Line" but that is a different song, so too i9s "Hummingbird" written by Don Robertson and recorded - amongst others - by Les Paul & Mary Ford.

I am hoping someone can throw light on this issue - it certainly is a puzzle!!

Subject: RE: Origins: Who wrote 'Hummingbird' aka Humming Bird
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Aug 25 - 11:43 AM

Here's the Johnny Cooper recording, with attribution to Hank Williams. Apparently, it's about a train named the Humming Bird, which ran from Cincinnati to somewhere. No listing for the song in Norm Cohen's Long Steel Rail, the most significant study of train songs I've ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV69OM7Zoi4

Here's a 1955 recording of "Humming Bird" by the Chordettes. I think it's a different song. Songwriter is D Robertson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au_gIPZkH20

Songfile.com has a song called "The Humming Bird" attributed to Hank Williams Jr. (born 1949), but I don't think young Hank was writing songs in 1955.

Subject: Origins: Who wrote 'Hummingbird' aka 'Humming Bir
From: GUEST,Paul Hazell
Date: 11 Aug 25 - 05:19 AM

I am working on a CD project and using a track recorded around 1955 by New Zealand artist Johnny Cooper, titled "Hummingbird" (aka "Humming Bird"). The original HMV label clearly attributes the song to Hank Williams. However, whilst that may be correct I can find no trace of Hank Williams ever having sung or recorded the song.

Johnnie & Jack (Johnnie Wright & Jack Anglin) recorded the same song (or almost the same) around 1951 but attributed it to themselves and Jim Anglin.

Can anyone help clarify who actually wrote the song please?