The song’s musical structure traces back to an earlier Tin Pan Alley source: the melody is essentially a simplified version of Thomas P. Westendorf’s 19th-century song “Is There No Kiss for Me Tonight, Love?” The Carter Family lyrics for “Gold Watch and Chain” are a slight rearrangement of the first and third verses of Westendorf’s older composition. A. P. Carter’s writer credit reflects the standard Carter Family practice of registering arrangements of older material under his own name — a practice that has prompted some retrospective attribution debate but that was common across the early country recording industry.

The song’s plain lyrical premise — the singer pawning his gold watch and chain to send a token to his absent lover — gave it a clear narrative anchor that has carried through to modern recordings. Emmylou Harris included a version on her 1980 album Roses in the Snow, and the song has been recorded by virtually every major bluegrass act in the Carter-tradition lineage. It remains a regular at jam sessions where the singer wants a piece with classic Carter Family directness.