“The Song of All Songs” was submitted for copyright deposit on December 3, 1863, by D. S. Holmes of New York.

The author of the lyrics is possibly John F. Poole, though none of Foster’s scores credit him. The words of the song appeared anonymously in Pastor’s New Irish Songster (New York: Dick and Fitzgerald, 1863). An article in the March 12, 1864, New York Clipper states that Tony Pastor claimed the song was written by Poole expressly for Pastor.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family:

“The Song of All Songs,” with music by Stephen, was first published by D. S. Holmes of Brooklyn in December, 1863, and six editions followed. Five editions also were published by Oliver Ditson of Boston. The words frequently have been credited, perhaps erroneously, to Stephen. The verses were republished in a number of newspapers; they are a clever compilation of titles of popular songs of the day, arranged to make sense, or rather nonsense. ... This poem was published in the New York Clipper of February 13, 1864, with the heading: “The following is said to be the last songcomposed by Mr. Foster. It is called: ‘The Song of Songs.’” Another newspaper states “S. C. Foster’s Last Song.” The inference in both cases is plainly that Stephen wrote the verses published in the paper. In the March 12, 1864, issue of the Clipper, Tony Pastor, the famous showman and vaudeville artist, states that it was written by “John F. Poole, expressly for Tony; that it was arranged for the stage by Tony, and sung by him. He further says that when the company of ‘444’ was in Boston last summer, Tony had the words set to music by Mr. Foster, and sold the song to Oliver Ditson, music publisher of that city.” Harlan Page Halsey also has been accredited with the authorship of the words. We learn from the researches of the late Walter R. Whittlesey, of the Library of Congress, and Charles Bragin, of Brooklyn, New York, that Halsey was a writer of dime novels and thrillers during the ’70’s; he also was a ghost writer for Tony Pastor, and frequently used the pseudonym “Old Sleuth.” With all the controversy, it would be strange if later researches reveal that Stephen actually was the author of the words of “The Song of All Songs.”