Black was inspired by the "
rapture" and the "
book of life". After a child was not in Sunday school, Black thought about someone missing attendance in heaven. He visited the child and called a doctor to treat the pneumonia. At home, he wrote "
When the roll is called up yonder" when he could not find a suitable hymn.
The song has been recorded by Johnny Cash, Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle) and Willie Nelson. The lyrics were in the 1941 movie Sergeant York.