This tune was popularized by Benny Thomasson, the son of the author. According to Benny, the tune may have been co-written by Luke's brother, around 1900 on their porch in the Texas panhandle. It may also be derived from an Oklahoma tune called Old Paint or Paint, written by Jess Morris.
Ref: https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Midnight_on_the_Water
Ref: https://thesession.org/tunes/5020
: | D | (DM7) | (D6) | D | |
DG | D | A7 | D | : | |
D | (DM7) | (D6) | D | ||
Em | Em | Bm | Bm | ||
G | G | D | D | ||
DG | D | A7 | D |