"The Rose Tree" is the title of two different tunes: this one that is a spiritual song and the "Irish reel" by the same name. Both are descended from "A Rose Tree in Full Bearing" that was printed in The English Musical Repository (1811). It all appears William Shield's ballad opera The Poor Soldier (1783). Both tunes are part of the family of American tunes known as "(Old) Zip Coon", "Natchez Under the Hill" and "Turkey in the Straw". It was printed in Jackson's Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America (1937).