History Of Swing Low Sweet Chariot

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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" falls into the category of songs known as coloured spiritual or African-America folk songs. It was composed by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory, before the year 1862. The idea for the song came from the Red river which caused Willis to remember of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah being taken to heaven by a chariot.

Alexander Reid who was a preacher at a Choctaw boarding institution, heard Willis singing the song and write out the words and melodies. Reid then sent the music to the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee who made it popular during a tour of America and Europe.

"Swing Low Sweet Chariot" was a popular song, sung by slaves in the south as they worked. The lyrics communicate the need for freedom and a return home physically to Africa, or spiritually, to heaven. The song continues to be a popular choice for gospel singers worldwide.

Traditional lyrics

Chorus:
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
I ...
... looked over Jordan, and what did I see
Coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home.
Chorus
Sometimes I'm up, and sometimes I'm down,
(Coming for to carry me home)
But still my soul feels heavenly bound.
(Coming for to carry me home)
Chorus
The brightest day that I can say,
(Coming for to carry me home)
When Jesus washed my sins away.
(Coming for to carry me home)
Chorus
If I get there before you do,
(Coming for to carry me home)
I'll cut a hole and pull you through.
(Coming for to carry me home)
Chorus
If you get there before I do,
(Coming for to carry me home)
Tell all my friends I'm coming too.
(Coming for to carry me home)
Chorus

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" has been covered by many artists including:

Benny Goodman (1936)
Fats Waller (1938)
Paul Robeson (1939)
The Charioteers (1939)
Tommy Dorsey (1940)
Glenn Miller (1944)
Dizzy Gillespie (1946)
Peggy Lee (1946)
Gene Autry (1950)
Duke Ellington (1950)
Norman Luboff Choir (1956)
Louis Armstrong (1957)
Laurel Aitken (1958)
Johnny Mathis (1958)
Johnny Cash (1959)
Harry Belafonte (1960)
The Brothers Four (1961)
The Staple Singers (1962)
Stevie Wonder (1968)
Patti Page (1969)
Joan Baez (1970)
The Mighty Clouds of Joy (1973)
The Jordanaires (1975)
Eric Clapton (1975)
Larry Norman (1983)
Solomon Burke (1983)
Glenn Yarbrough (1987)
Diamanda Galas (1988)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (1995)
B. B. King (1996)
Willie Nelson (1996)
Barbara Mandrell (1997)
Della Reese (1997)
Loretta Lynn (1998)
Dinah Shore (1999)
Etta James (2000)
UB40 (2003)
Von Trapp Children (2004)
Annuals (2006)
Tay Zonday (2008)
Kathleen Battle (2008)
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