"Motherless Child", also known as "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child") is a traditional Negro spiritual. It dates back to the era of slavery in the United States. An early performance of the song dates back to the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Like many traditional songs, it has many variations and has been recorded widely. The earliest publication of it found so far is in Barton's Plantation Hymns (1899) though the song is from much earlier. Arrangements have been attributed to Harry Burleigh (1918), J. W. Johnson and J. R. Johnson (1926). It was recorded by Paul Robeson, Fred Waring Glee Club, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Mahalia Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Peter, Paul and Mary and many others. A version is printed in John and Alan Lomax's Best Loved American Folk Songs (Folk Song USA).