This song likely dates to just after the American Civil War, but its first documented date is 1918 by Cecil Sharp, who had investigated and collected folk songs of the southern Appalachians. Although considered a traditional American song, lyrical variations suggest that it may have been known in some form on the British Isles.
The first lines go as follows: Dig a hole, dig a hole in the meadow Dig a hole in the cold, cold ground Dig a hole, dig a hole in the meadow Gonna lay darling Corey down
There is lyrical similarity between "Darlin' Cory" and the traditional song Little Maggie, but the tunes are different and ethno-musicologists consider them to be separate songs.