There are several attributions for the authorship of this song. The oldest known print edition is in the 1911
Church of God hymnal
Select Hymns for Christian Worship and General Gospel Service; its only attribution is "Arr. B. E. W.", referring to the hymnal editor
Barney E. Warren. In 1937 the
Stamps-Baxter Music Company included the song in their
Starlit Crown collection and several subsequent collections. The Stamps-Baxter version was set to a new musical arrangement by Gospel composer and publisher
J. R. Baxter, and was initially credited "As sung by the Burnette Sisters". Most versions of the song published today use the Stamps-Baxter arrangement and also credit Stephens as the song's author. This version of the song's origin was copied to
Wikipedia without further citation, and from there became commonly accepted across the Internet. Other people who have been credited with authorship of the song include W. E. Lindsey (
Eureka Sacred Carols, 1921) and W. P. Jay (
Sing Out!, 1960s). ==Notable covers==