In My Time of Dying - wikipedia In My Time of Dying For Television Episode by the same name, see In My Time of Dying ( Supernatural ). `` Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed '' Blind Willie Johnson 1928 single Single by Blind Willie Johnson Released 1928 ( 1928 ) Format 10 - inch 78 rpm record Recorded Dallas, Texas, December 3, 1927 Genre Gospel blues Length 3 : 12 Label Columbia ( no. 14276 - D ) Songwriter ( s ) Unknown `` In My Time of Dying '' ( also called `` Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed '' or a variation thereof ) is a traditional gospel music song that has been recorded by numerous musicians. The title line, closing each stanza of the song, refers to a deathbed and was inspired by a passage in the Bible from Psalms 41 : 3 `` The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness ''. Contents 1 Early versions 2 Bob Dylan version 3 John Sebastian version 4 Led Zeppelin version 4.1 Reception 4.2 Personnel 5 References Early versions The lyrics `` Jesus goin ' a-make up my dyin ' bed '' appear in historian Robert Emmet Kennedy 's Mellows -- A Chronicle of Unknown Singers published in 1925, on Louisiana street performers, and also listed in the Cleveland Library 's Index to Negro Spirituals. The variation `` He is a Dying - bed maker '' appears in the song `` When I 's Dead and Gone '' as transcribed in 1924 or 1925 in the south - east. A close theme in English hymnary is found in Isaac Watts, and many derivative hymnals. In October 1926, Reverend J.C. Burnett recorded `` Jesus Is Going to Make Up Your Dying Bed '', but it was never issued. Blind Willie Johnson may have heard Burnett 's song or otherwise learned some of his lyrics. Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song during his first recording session on December 3, 1927, as `` Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed '' and the second take was released as his first single in 1928, backed by `` I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole ''. Johnson performed the song as a gospel blues with his vocal and slide guitar accompaniment, using an open D tuning with a capo resulting in a pitch of E ♭. An initial pressing of 9,400 records showed Columbia 's confidence in the song, who normally released fewer records for major stars such as Bessie Smith. A later pressing of 6,000 was very large for a debut and it was one of Johnson 's most successful records. In 1928, Rev. B.J. Hill and The Jubilee Gospel Team recorded `` Lower My Dying Head '' as a cappela song. In December 1929, Charlie Patton recorded a version with somewhat different lyrics as `` Jesus Is A-Dying Bed Maker ''. On August 15, 1933, Josh White recorded the song as `` Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed ''. White later recorded it between 1944 and 1946 as `` In My Time of Dying '', which inspired several popular versions. In 1932, Martha Emmons published a nine - stanza, nine - refrains, version that she heard in Waco, Texas, under the title `` Tone de Bell Easy ''. Two years later John and Alan Lomax printed a composite with 11 stanzas and 9 refrains. Bob Dylan version Versions were recorded by country blues artists like Vera Reed and gospel groups like the Soul Stirrers. The song gained greater prominence in popular music when Bob Dylan included a version ( along with several others dealing with the subject of death ) on his 1962 eponymous debut album. The song, closest to Josh White 's version, had a slightly different name on the Dylan album, `` In My Time of Dyin ' ''. The liner notes to the album explain : Dylan had never sung ' In My Time of Dyin ' ' prior to this recording session. He does not recall where he first heard it. The guitar is fretted with the lipstick holder ( makeshift slide ) he borrowed from his girl, Suze Rotolo, who sat devotedly and wide - eyed through the recording session. John Sebastian version John Sebastian 's version of the song, under the title `` Well, Well, Well '', is the opening selection on his 1971 album The Four of Us, which was also issued as a single. Sebastian 's arrangement, also credited to Joshua White, is lyrically similar to Dylan 's, but features an up - tempo blues - rock approach with no slide guitar. The musicians on this version, which was produced by Paul A. Rothchild, include Sebastian ( guitar and vocal ), Paul Harris ( keyboards ), Greg Reeves ( bass ), and Dallas Taylor ( percussion ). Led Zeppelin version `` In My Time of Dying '' Song by Led Zeppelin from the album Physical Graffiti Released February 24, 1975 ( 1975 - 02 - 24 ) Recorded Headley Grange, Headley, England, 1974 Olympic Studios, London, 1974 Genre Blues rock Length 11 : 08 Label Swan Song Songwriter ( s ) John Bonham John Paul Jones Jimmy Page Robert Plant Producer ( s ) Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin 's `` In My Time of Dying '' was released on their sixth album Physical Graffiti. At 11 : 06, it is the longest studio track on any Led Zeppelin studio album, but contains no long instrumental passages despite its extended timing. Physical Graffiti 's credits list the four members of Led Zeppelin as the song 's authors, despite the earlier released versions of the song. For the recording, Jimmy Page uses an open A-chord tuning and John Paul Jones plays a fretless bass. John Bonham 's drums were recorded with a distinctive reverb effect, in the same manner as on the track `` When the Levee Breaks '' from Led Zeppelin 's fourth album. In the May 2008 issue of Uncut Magazine, Page elaborated on the humorous reaction in the studio which can be heard at the end of the song : We were just having such a wonderful time. Look, we had a framework for `` In My Time of Dying '', Ok, but then it just takes off and we 're just doing what Led Zeppelin do. We 're jamming. We 're having a ball. We. Are. Playing. Record producer Rick Rubin has remarked on the song 's structure, `` The bass line in the fast grooves is so interesting and unexpected. It keeps shifting gears, over and over. '' Led Zeppelin performing `` In My Time of Dying '' live at Chicago Stadium, January 1975 Led Zeppelin performed `` In My Time of Dying '' during the 1975 and 1977 concert tours, where Robert Plant sarcastically dedicated the song to the British Labour Party 's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey, for the tax exile issues the band was facing. Although performed in 1977, Plant initially was not keen on singing the song after suffering a near - fatal car crash in 1975, due to its fatalistic lyrical theme. This was one of the few live songs where Page switched to his black and white Danelectro guitar, which he also used for `` White Summer '' and `` Kashmir ''. One live version of `` In My Time of Dying '', from Led Zeppelin 's performance at Earls Court on May 24, 1975, is featured on the Led Zeppelin DVD, and its promotional sampler on the Mothership compilation. In 1993, when Page toured Japan with David Coverdale as Coverdale Page, they performed this song on all seven of their dates. Page performed this song on his tour with the Black Crowes in 1999. A version of `` In My Time of Dying '' performed by Page and the Black Crowes is on the album Live at the Greek. Page also included the song as part of his solo Outrider tour. `` In My Time of Dying '' was performed at Led Zeppelin 's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on December 10, 2007. For versions by other artists that credit Page / Plant / Jones / Bonham, see List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs. Reception In a retrospective review of Physical Graffiti ( Deluxe Edition ), Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound gave `` In My Time of Dying '' a positive review, calling the track one of Physical Graffiti 's finest moments. Hadusek believed the track `` descends into a droning blues that sounds exactly like its title. '' In another retrospective review of Physical Graffiti ( Deluxe Edition ), Mark Richardson of Pitchfork described `` In My Time of Dying '' as Zeppelin 's `` ultimate blues deconstruction, mixing the open - chord slide of acoustic Delta blues with electric heaviness and extending the whole thing past 11 minutes. '' Personnel Robert Plant -- vocals Jimmy Page -- guitars John Paul Jones -- fretless bass guitar John Bonham -- drums References ^ Jump up to : Blakey, D.N. ( 2007 ). Revelation : Blind Willie Johnson The Biography. DNB45 Publishing. pp. 26 -- 32. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4303 - 2899 - 5. Jump up ^ Kennedy, R. Emmet ( 1925 ). Mellows : A Chronicle of Unknown Singers. Albert & Charles Boni, Inc. p. 115. Jump up ^ Kennedy, R. Emmet ( 1924 ). Black Cameos. Albert & Charles Boni, Inc. Jump up ^ Odum, Howard Washington ; Johnson, Guy Benton ( 1926 ). `` When I 's Dead an ' Gone ''. Negro workaday songs. Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 197, x. Jump up ^ Watts, Isaac ( 1760 ). `` Hymns and Spiritual Songs ''. XXXI Christ 's Presence Makes Death Easy. Jump up ^ Columbia Records no. 14276 - D Jump up ^ QRS Records no. R7015, 195 - Jump up ^ Paramount Records no. 12986 - A Jump up ^ Banner Records no. 32859 Jump up ^ Emmons, Martha ( 1932 ). J. Frank Dobie ( ed. ). `` Tone the Bell Easy ''. Publications of the Texas Folklore Society. 10. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 27. Jump up ^ American ballads and folk songs. John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax, George Lyman Kittredge ( eds. ). New York : Dover. 1994. ISBN 978 - 0 - 486 - 28276 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Led Zeppelin : Plagiarism `` In My Time of Dying '' ``. Turn Me On, Dead Man. 2015 - 03 - 06. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 28. Jump up ^ Williams, Stacey ( 1962 ). Bob Dylan ( Album notes ). Bob Dylan. New York City : Columbia Records. p. 5. CK 8579. Jump up ^ Reprise Records no. MS 2041 Jump up ^ Reprise 1050 ^ Jump up to : Dave Lewis ( 1994 ), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0 - 7119 - 3528 - 9. Jump up ^ Cavanaugh, David. `` Jimmy Page, ' Mission Accomplished. ' '' Uncut Magazine. Take 132 ( May 2008 ) : 50. Jump up ^ The Playlist Special : Fifty Artists Pick Their Personal Top 10s. Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 2, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes - Live at the Greek ''. Discogs. Retrieved 25 September 2017. Jump up ^ Hadusek, Jon ( 19 February 2015 ). `` Led Zeppelin -- Physical Graffiti ( Reissue ) ''. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 July 2017. Jump up ^ Richardson, Mark ( 24 February 2015 ). `` Led Zeppelin : Led Zeppelin IV / Houses of the Holy / Physical Graffiti Album Review ''. Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 July 2017. Blind Willie Johnson songs Original Columbia 78 rpm records ( chronological ) `` Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed '' / `` I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole '' `` Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground '' / `` It 's Nobody 's Fault but Mine '' `` Mother 's Children Have a Hard Time '' ) / `` If I Had My Way I 'd Tear the Building Down '' `` I 'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge '' / `` Jesus Is Coming Soon '' `` Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning '' / `` Lord I Just Ca n't Keep From Crying '' `` God Do n't Never Change '' / `` Let Your Light Shine on Me '' `` Bye and Bye I 'm Goin ' to See the King '' / `` You 'll Need Somebody on Your Bond '' `` God Moves on the Water '' / `` Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There '' `` John the Revelator '' / `` You 're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond '' `` The Rain Do n't Fall on Me '' / `` Trouble Will Soon Be Over '' `` Praise God I 'm Satisfied '' / `` When the War Was On '' `` Ca n't Nobody Hide from God '' / `` If It Had Not Been For Jesus '' `` The Soul of a Man '' / `` Church, I 'm Fully Saved To - Day '' `` Go with Me to That Land '' / `` Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right '' `` Take Your Stand '' / `` Sweeter as the Years Roll By '' Related articles List of songs ( with recording & catalogue details ) Bob Dylan ( album ) Side one `` You 're No Good '' `` Talkin ' New York '' `` In My Time of Dyin ' '' `` Man of Constant Sorrow '' `` Fixin ' to Die '' `` Pretty Peggy - O '' `` Highway 51 '' Side two `` Gospel Plow '' `` Baby, Let Me Follow You Down '' `` House of the Risin ' Sun '' `` Freight Train Blues '' `` Song to Woody '' `` See That My Grave Is Kept Clean '' Bob Dylan ( discography ) Studio albums Bob Dylan The Freewheelin ' Bob Dylan The Times They Are a-Changin ' Another Side of Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home Highway 61 Revisited Blonde on Blonde John Wesley Harding Nashville Skyline Self Portrait New Morning Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Dylan Planet Waves Blood on the Tracks The Basement Tapes Desire Street - Legal Slow Train Coming Saved Shot of Love Infidels Empire Burlesque Knocked Out Loaded Down in the Groove Oh Mercy Under the Red Sky Good as I Been to You World Gone Wrong Time Out of Mind Love and Theft Modern Times Together Through Life Christmas in the Heart Tempest Shadows in the Night Fallen Angels Triplicate Live albums Before the Flood Hard Rain Bob Dylan at Budokan Real Live Dylan & the Dead The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration MTV Unplugged Live 1961 -- 2000 : Thirty - Nine Years of Great Concert Performances Live at The Gaslight 1962 Live at Carnegie Hall 1963 In Concert -- Brandeis University 1963 The 1966 Live Recordings Compilations Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Vol. II Masterpieces Biograph Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Volume 3 The Best of Bob Dylan ( 1997 ) The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2 The Essential Bob Dylan Bob Dylan : The Collection The Best of Bob Dylan ( 2005 ) Blues Dylan The Original Mono Recordings The 50th Anniversary Collection Bob Dylan : The Complete Album Collection Vol. One The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963 The 50th Anniversary Collection 1964 Bootlegs Great White Wonder List of Basement Tapes songs ( 1967, 1975 ) The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 -- 3 ( Rare & Unreleased ) 1961 -- 1991 Volume 4 : The Royal Albert Hall concert Vol. 5 : Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue Vol. 6 : Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall Vol. 7 : No Direction Home : The Soundtrack Vol. 8 : Tell Tale Signs : Rare and Unreleased 1989 -- 2006 Vol. 9 : The Witmark Demos : 1962 -- 1964 Vol. 10 : Another Self Portrait ( 1969 -- 1971 ) Vol. 11 : The Basement Tapes Complete Vol. 12 : The Cutting Edge 1965 -- 1966 Vol. 13 : Trouble No More 1979 -- 1981 Concert tours England Tour ( 1965 ) World Tour ( 1966 ) Tour with The Band ( 1974 ) Rolling Thunder Revue ( 1975 -- 1976 ) World Tour ( 1978 ) Gospel Tour ( 1979 -- 1980 ) World Tour ( 1981 ) European Tour ( 1984 ) True Confessions Tour ( 1986 ) Tour with the Grateful Dead ( 1987 ) Temples in Flames Tour ( 1987 ) Never Ending Tour 2017 Films Madhouse on Castle Street Dont Look Back Eat the Document Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid Renaldo and Clara Hearts of Fire Masked and Anonymous No Direction Home I 'm Not There 65 Revisited The Other Side of the Mirror : Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963 -- 1965 Inside Llewyn Davis Writings Tarantula Writings and Drawings Chronicles : Volume One Books about Dylan The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia Bob Dylan, Performing Artist Invisible Republic The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan Related Sara Dylan ( first wife ) Carolyn Dennis ( second wife ) Jesse Dylan ( son ) Jakob Dylan ( son ) Awards Bibliography Songs written by Dylan The Band Electric Dylan controversy Theme Time Radio Hour Traveling Wilburys Artists who have covered Dylan songs Chimes of Freedom ( album ) The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams Lost on the River : The New Basement Tapes Related topics Songs recorded by Dylan Suze Rotolo American folk music revival The Telegraph magazine Book Category Portal Physical Graffiti track listing Songs Side one `` Custard Pie '' `` The Rover '' `` In My Time of Dying '' Side two `` Houses of the Holy '' `` Trampled Under Foot '' `` Kashmir '' Side three `` In the Light '' `` Bron - Yr - Aur '' `` Down by the Seaside '' `` Ten Years Gone '' Side four `` Night Flight '' `` The Wanton Song '' `` Boogie with Stu '' `` Black Country Woman '' `` Sick Again '' Deluxe edition `` Brandy & Coke '' `` Everybody Makes It Through '' `` Driving Through Kashmir '' Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin III Led Zeppelin IV Houses of the Holy Physical Graffiti Presence In Through the Out Door Coda Led Zeppelin John Bonham John Paul Jones Jimmy Page Robert Plant Studio albums Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin III Led Zeppelin IV Houses of the Holy Physical Graffiti Presence In Through the Out Door Coda Live albums The Song Remains the Same BBC Sessions How the West Was Won Celebration Day Compilations Profiled The Best of Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions Mothership Led Zeppelin Deluxe Edition Boxed sets Led Zeppelin Remasters Boxed Set 2 The Complete Studio Recordings Definitive Collection Singles `` Good Times Bad Times '' / `` Communication Breakdown '' `` Whole Lotta Love '' / `` Living Loving Maid ( She 's Just a Woman ) '' `` Immigrant Song '' / `` Hey, Hey, What Can I Do '' `` Black Dog '' / `` Misty Mountain Hop '' `` Rock and Roll '' / `` Four Sticks '' `` Over the Hills and Far Away '' / `` Dancing Days '' `` D'yer Mak'er '' / `` The Crunge '' `` Trampled Under Foot '' / `` Black Country Woman '' `` Candy Store Rock '' / `` Royal Orleans '' `` Fool in the Rain '' / `` Hot Dog '' `` Travelling Riverside Blues '' `` Baby Come On Home '' `` The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair '' Films The Song Remains the Same Led Zeppelin DVD Celebration Day Tours Scandinavia 1968 U.K. 1968 North America 1968 -- 1969 U.K. & Scandinavia 1969 North America Spring 1969 U.K. Summer 1969 North America Summer 1969 Europe Autumn 1969 North America Autumn 1969 U.K. 1970 Europe 1970 North America Spring 1970 Iceland, Bath & Germany 1970 North America Summer 1970 U.K. Spring 1971 Europe 1971 North America 1971 Japan 1971 U.K. Winter 1971 Australasia 1972 North America 1972 Japan 1972 U.K. 1972 -- 1973 Europe 1973 North America 1973 North America 1975 Earls Court 1975 North America 1977 Knebworth 1979 Over Europe 1980 Reunions Live Aid ( 1985 ) Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary ( 1988 ) Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert ( 2007 ) Lists Discography Songs Awards and nominations Bootlegs Cover versions by others Led Zeppelin songs written or inspired by others Related Articles Swan Song Records Three Week Hero `` Beck 's Bolero '' Bron - Yr - Aur The Starship Caesar 's Chariot Shark episode Planned tour -- The 1980s, Part One Covers and tributes That ' 70s Show ( season 5 ) Bands The Yardbirds Band of Joy XYZ The Honeydrippers The Firm Coverdale Page Page and Plant Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes Them Crooked Vultures Strange Sensation Books Hammer of the Gods : The Led Zeppelin Saga Stairway to Heaven : Led Zeppelin Uncensored When Giants Walked the Earth People Jason Bonham Peter Grant Richard Cole Book Category Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_My_Time_of_Dying&oldid=807886212 '' Categories : 1927 songs Blind Willie Johnson songs Blues songs Gospel songs Bob Dylan songs Led Zeppelin songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page Songs about death Columbia Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Polski Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2017, at 17 : 20. 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Question: who wrote the song in my time of dying
Answer: Unknown