in December 1929, Blind Willie Johnson recorded "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning," which is a reference to Matthew 25:1-13 (the passage about the bridesmaids letting their lamps burn down overnight and thus missing the wedding the next day.) The song appears to be based on an early african american spiritual from pre-civil war times (i.e. under slavery) that uses the bible verse as a metaphor for being prepared for freedom (released from this life by god, or released from slavery.)

This was only two months after Blind Willie McTell recorded "Statesboro Blues" (both musicians had certainly performed these songs before they recorded them.)

McTell and Johnson were good friends and knew each other's music, so McTell was almost certainly familiar with Johnson's "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning" (or the spiritual it was derived from) when he recorded Statesboro Blues.

Later Big Joe Williams recorded "please don't go" including the verse:
Turn your lamp down low
You turn your lamp turn low
Turn your lamp down low
I cried all night long
Now, baby please don't go.


Could the line "wake up mama, turn your lamp down low" (Statesboro Blues), "turn your lamp down low" (Please Don't Go") and "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning" all come from the same origin?

If so, this implies that "turn your lamp down low" has more to do with being prepared to meet your maker (or to escape), which lends an interesting meaning to the line "An' if you two-time me, daddy, Turn yo' damper down." The "be ready to escape" interpretation also sheds an interesting light on the line "Goin' up the country, Mama, don't you want to go?"