Songfacts®:

• This is based on the Biblical story Noah's Ark, particularly the passage Genesis 8:6-12. After 40 days adrift on the flooded earth, Noah sent out a dove to find out if the water had dried up from the land. After a couple attempts, the dove returned with an olive leaf in its mouth, so Noah knew the water had begun to recede from the earth. The image of the dove carrying an olive branch became an enduring symbol of peace in Christian art.
  
  In other areas of scripture, the dove also represents the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:16, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32-33 recount Jesus' baptism at the Jordan River. After Jesus prays, heaven opens and the Holy Spirit comes down in the form of a dove. The moment is linked to God the Father's love as a voice from above says, "You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."
• Actor Robert Duvall sang this in the movie Tender Mercies. Duvall won the Oscar for Best Male Lead for his performance in the film. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Julian - Oakland, AR, for above 2
• This was written by Bob Ferguson, a Nashville songwriter and producer who would go on to write the hit "The Carroll County Accident" for Porter Wagoner. Ferguson was producing a series of films for the Tennessee Game & Fish Commission when he wrote "Wings Of A Dove" in 1958. "This is a personal expression of faith and joy in achieving a goal," Ferguson told author Dorothy Horstman of the song. "When I wrote it, I had just completed 13 films on wildlife, and I was elated that the job was done."
• Dolly Parton covered this on her 1971 gospel album The Golden Streets Of Glory, produced by Bob Ferguson. Parton's version contains an additional verse about Jesus' baptism:
  
  When Jesus went down through the river that day
  Well, he was baptized in the usual way
  And when it was done
  God blessed His son
  He sent him His love
  On the wings of a dove