Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning - Wikipedia Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning `` Keep Your Lamp ( s ) Trimmed and Burning '' is a traditional gospel blues song. It alludes to the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, found in the Gospel of Matthew at 25 : 1 - 13, and also to a verse in the Gospel of Luke, at 12 : 35. The song has been attributed to Blind Willie Johnson, who recorded it in 1928 ; to Mississippi Fred McDowell, who recorded it in 1959 ; and to Reverend Gary Davis, who recorded it sometime before 1961. The song has been included in several hymnals. Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Recordings 3 See also 4 References Lyrics The song is in call - and - response format. As is common with traditional songs, lyrics vary between performers -- in this instance, often very widely. A usual first verse is : Keep your lamp trimmed and burning, The world ( or `` work '' ) is nearly done ( or `` The time is drawing nigh '' ) `` The world '' and `` the time '' relate to the apocalyptic prophecies of the New Testament. `` The work '' can do so also, but suggests that the song may derive from an African - American work song. Recordings `` Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning '' ( Blind Willie Johnson version ) Blind Willie Johnson 's 1928 recording of the song Problems playing this file ? See media help. Recordings by people with Wikipedia articles include : 1928 -- Blind Willie Johnson 1959 -- Mississippi Fred McDowell Before 1961 -- Pink Anderson and Reverend Gary Davis 1967 -- Skip James 1970 -- Wizz Jones, on the album The Legendary Me 1971 -- Hot Tuna, on the album First Pull Up, Then Pull Down 1975 -- Pearly Brown, on the album It 's a Mean Old World to Try to Live In 1975 -- John Fahey and his Orchestra, on the album Old Fashioned Love 1984 -- Hot Tuna, on the album Splashdown 1986 -- Hot Rize, on the album Traditional Ties 1993 -- Wizz Jones, on the album Late Nights and Long Days 1996 -- Hot Rize, on the 2002 album So Long of a Journey : Live at the Bouder Theater 2001 -- The Word, on the album The Word Album 2002 -- Andrew Bird, on the album Fingerlings 2008 -- The 77s, on the album Holy Ghost Building 2013 -- Luke Winslow - King on the album The Coming Tide 2013 -- Marisa Anderson on the album Traditional and Public Domain Songs 2015 -- Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, on the album Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams 2016 -- Hugh and Katy Moffatt, on the album Now and Then 2016 -- Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, on the album God Do n't Never Change : The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson See also `` The Man Comes Around '', a song based on the same biblical passages References Jump up ^ `` Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning ''. hymnary.org. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning at AllMusic. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Downhome Blues 1959 at AllMusic. Retrieved January 2015. Jump up ^ Gospel, Blues and Street Songs at AllMusic. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Jump up ^ Studio Sessions : Rare and Unreleased at AllMusic. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Jump up ^ First Pull Up, Then Pull Down at AllMusic. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Jump up ^ So Long of a Journey : Live at the Bouder Theater at AllMusic. Retrieved January 2015. 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 ) This gospel music article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_Your_Lamp_Trimmed_and_Burning&oldid=812468435 '' Categories : Blind Willie Johnson songs Gospel songs Year of song unknown Gospel music stubs Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015 Articles with hAudio microformats All stub articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 28 November 2017, at 00 : 35. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when was keep your lamps trimmed and burning written
Answer: 1928