"French Broad" is attributed to William Walker who included it in The Southern Harmony (1835) and, later, in The Christian Harmony (1873). He claimed to have "composed" the hymn while traveling on the French Broad River in North Carolina and Tennessee. The melody was probably derived from "Kedron". It was printed in Jackson's Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America (1937). Dr. Jackson find similarities to "McAfee's Confession". printed in Sharp's English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians and to "The Wraggle-taggle Gypsies".