Oil in My Lamp

DESCRIPTION: WITrinidadVillage02 has "A little more oil in your lamp Keep it burning A little more oil in your lamp I say A little more oil in your lamp Keep it burning O keep it burning Till the break of day." Monty Morris has "my lamp" and "pray" instead of "say"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (WITrinidadVillage02)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND IN: West Indies(Jamaica,Trinidad)
RECORDINGS:
Eric "Monty" Morris with Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires, "Oil In My Lamp" (Atlantic 45 rpm AT 4003, 1964; on "Ska Down Jamaica," Hudson VanDam HVCD CD 5105-2, 1998)
Venice Talbot, Louise Neptune, Lovey Gilman, Martha Saunders, Henry Thomas, "A Little More Oil in Your Lamp" (on WITrinidadVillage02)
NOTES [337 words]: Both the WITrinidadVillage02 and Monty Morris recordings are only the verse in the description, repeated. One of the remaining forms using the ska rhythm in Jamaica is the hymn (see Melvyn Lloyd Butler, Songs of Pentecost: Experiencing Music, Transendence, and Identity in Jamaica and Haiti (Ph.D. Dissertation, New York University, 2005), pp. 44 (fn 26), 182-183, 221).
The following information is from the Hymnary.org site https://hymnary.org/text/give%5fme%5foil%5fin%5fmy%5flamp%5fkeep%5fme%5fburning accessed 20 July 2023). There are at least two other hymns to the same tune and pattern: "Give Me Oil in My Lamp" shares its first verse with the Monty Morris version, has a chorus ("Sing hosanna"(3x) "to the King of kings" "Sing hosanna"(3x)" "Sing hosanna to the King") and adds three verses ("Give me love in my heart keep me sharing" "Give me joy in my heart keep me singing" "Give me faith in my heart keep me praying"); "Give Me Joy in My Heart Keep Me Praising" has its title verse, the "sing hosanna" chorus and two more verses ("Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving" "Give me love in my heart keep me serving"). The author/adapter of both is A. Sevison and the site has no hymnal appearances, for either, before 1950. Both have been recorded many times, sometimes as "Sing Hosanna"
Donald R. Hill and Lise Winer, liner notes for WITrinidadVillage02: "The lyrics of 'A Little More Oil' refer to Exodus 27:20 'and thou shall command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always' (see also Hebrews 1:9)."
On the other hand, the source of the theme may be the Matthew 25:1-13 parable of the ten virgins (see notes to "The Ten Virgins"). - BS
(For what it's worth, I was immediately reminded of the Ten Virgins, not the Exodus passage. My second thought would probably be of the Hannukah Oil, but that probably wouldn't occur to this sort of congregation. But I'm sure Exodus would not have come to mind unless directly reminded. - RBW)
Last updated in version 6.7
File: RcOIMLam

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