The song's origins are uncertain; however, its nearest known relative is the English folk song "
The Twelve Apostles." From 1908 to 1917, folklorist
Cecil Sharp transcribed multiple versions of "The Twelve Apostles" in
Appalachia, providing evidence of the song's propagation into the
American South. In 1934, folklorists
John Avery Lomax and
Alan Lomax travelled to Bellwood Labor Camp in
Atlanta,
Georgia, as part of a
field recording trip. This trip produced the earliest known version of the tune to be recorded in North America. Sung by an unidentified group of African-American convicts, the recording presents a number of notable elements that begin to distinguish the song from its English ancestor. In particular, the
harmonies and
heterophonic texture of the performance contrast from the
homophonic versions captured by Grainger and Sharp. The lyrics also show a trend toward those more commonly associated with "Children, Go Where I Send Thee." For instance, the line "Two, two, the lily-white boys clothed all in green" in Grainger's recording has become "One was the little white babe all dressed in blue" in the Bellwood Prison Camp recording. This recording features further lyrical and stylistic developments worth noting. The lines for the numbers three and two are: "Three was
the Hebrew children; two was
Paul and
Silas." As with many spirituals, these references to imprisoned biblical figures are analogues for the enslavement of African Americans. Coupled with the recording's rhythmically driven
jubilee quartet style, these features make the song a distinctly American folk tune. While the Golden Gate Quartet were largely responsible for popularizing the song, theirs was only one of many contemporary versions. The Golden Gate Quartet themselves learned the song from another jubilee quartet, the
Heavenly Gospel Singers. ==Recordings and adaptations==