[2] In 1987, Broadcast Music Incorporated awarded Ferguson with the "million air" plays for the "Wings of a Dove".

The song alludes to a passage from the Bible about God sending Noah a dove during the flood in Genesis 8:6-12.

Dolly Parton's and Porter Wagoner's cover versions[3] include a verse not in the original,[4] referring to another passage about a dove in Matthew 3:16 where: "After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him."

The song has also been covered by many artists, including Charley Pride, Bonnie Guitar, The Jordanaires, George Jones, Hal Ketchum, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, The Wilders, and Jim Witter, among others.

Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn included it on their 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels.