"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
Page from The Jubilee Singers, 1873.
Written by	Wallace Willis
Written	Prior to 1862
Form	African-American spiritual
Original artist	Fisk Jubilee Singers (Earliest attested)

	"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" Performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic American Negro spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University.

In 2002, the Library of Congress honored the song as one of 50 recordings chosen that year to be added to the National Recording Registry. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

History [link]

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, near the County seat of Hugo, Oklahoma sometime before 1862. He was inspired by the Red River, which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Many sources claim that this song and "Steal Away" (also composed by Willis) had lyrics that referred to the Underground Railroad, the resistance movement that helped slaves escape from the South to the North and Canada.

Alexander Reid, a minister at the Old Spencer Academy, Choctaw boarding school, heard Willis singing these two songs and transcribed the words and melodies. He sent the music to the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jubilee Singers popularized the songs during a tour of the United States and Europe.

The song enjoyed a resurgence during the 1960s Civil Rights struggle and the folk revival; it was performed by a number of artists. Perhaps the most famous performance during this period was that by Joan Baez during the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival.

Traditional lyrics [link]

Notable cover versions [link]

Another earlier recording was by the Apollo Jubilee Quartette on Monday, February 26, 1912, Columbia Records (A1169), New York.^[1][2]

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" has been sung by many artists. A partial list includes:

Notable allusions in other songs [link]

• Neil Young, used word arrangements from this spiritual and from its 1968 adaptation "Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac" by Dizzy Gillespie in different parts of his song "Alabama" on the album Harvest (1972):

Swing low Alabama
Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and a wheel on the track
Hear the banjo. Don't it take you down home?

• Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd lyricist, used the lines from this spiritual twice in his songs: first, in 1977 composition "Sheep" from the Animals album,

I looked over Jordan, and I've seen
Things are not what they seem

and then in "Bravery of Being out of Range" from Amused to Death (1992):

I looked over Jordan and what did I see?
Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris

• Emmylou Harris made an allusion to this song in "Sweet Chariot", the closing song on The Ballad of Sally Rose (1985):

Swing down sweet chariot
The flesh will fall and the bones will rot
But from my sorrow you'll carry me not
My heart is bound, my soul is chained to the rock.

• Steve Earle made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in "Ellis Unit One":

Swing low,
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

• Tori Amos made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in "Spark" from the album From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998):

Swing low,
Swing low, sweet chariot

The lyrics are sung in the background behind:

if the Divine master plan is perfection,
maybe next I’ll give Judas a try

• Thom Yorke of Radiohead made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in "Pyramid Song" from Amnesiac album (2001):

I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me

• Courtney Love made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in Hole's song "Awful":

Swing low, sweet cherry,
Make it awful

and later,

Swing low, cherry, cherry
Make it awful

• Mark Knopfler made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in the song "Early Bird", a b-side from the album Get Lucky:

I dig my chariot, dig my crib
And my long black Cadillac
Coming for to carry me home

• Pimp C made an allusion to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in the opening of "I Gotta Thang" from the album Sweet James Jones Stories (2005):

Swang down, sweet chariot

• The Horrible Crowes pay homage to the song in "Crush" on their album Elsie:

If you should go there before I do (God's gonna trouble the water)
Tell all my friends that I'm coming too (God's gonna trouble the water)
And sometimes I'm up, Lord, and sometimes I'm down (God's gonna trouble the water)
Sometimes I'm almost level with the ground (God's gonna trouble the water)

Use in rugby union [link]

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" has been sung by rugby players and fans for some decades,^[3] but became associated with the English national side, in particular, in 1988. Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland at Twickenham, England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship. The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 0-3 down. However during the second half England scored six tries to give them a 35-3 win. Three of the tries came in quick succession from Chris Oti, a black player making his Twickenham debut. A group from the Benedictine school Douai started to sing a rugby club favourite – the gospel hymn "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" – in honour of their new hero, large sections of the crowd joined in. The song is still regularly sung at matches by supporters.^[3][4][5] There are associated gestures, sometimes used in a drinking game, which requires those who wrongly perform the gestures to buy a round of drinks.^[6][7]

The England national rugby union team returned from the 2003 World Cup triumph in Australia on a plane dubbed "Sweet Chariot".^[8]

Recordings associated with England's participation at the Rugby World Cup [link]

The song became the England Rugby World Cup theme for 1991, when performed by "Union featuring the England World Cup Squad". It reached no. 16 on the UK singles chart.

The song was then covered in 1995 for that year's tournament by British pop/reggae duo China Black together with South African male choral group, the Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It reached no. 15 on the chart, selling 200,000 copies — and South Africa won the tournament.

1999's tournament saw Russell Watson record a version which had less success, only peaking at no. 38 on the UK chart.

The song enjoyed more success in 2003's tournament, when recorded by UB40 and the United Colours of Sound. It originally peaked at no. 23, but following England's victory in the tournament returned to reach no. 15.

A new version was recorded by Blake for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

For 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand popular all girl group ‘Our Lady Muse’ (O.L.M) are releasing an England Rugby World Cup Song an upbeat party anthem version of the Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – The Song was premiered at the famous 'Polo Rocks' concert in aid of The Princes Trust late July anticipating a release on September 4, 2011

Use in popular culture [link]

In the 1932 film I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, the song is sung by a congregation of black church-goers as the prison mates are led into the pews.

The song was used in Comedy Central's 2005 series Stella, episode "Vegetables" starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. The song is sung by the cast as they work out in a field picking vegetables.

Chevy Chase sings an excerpt from the song in both National Lampoon's Vacation from 1983 and Fletch from 1985.

In Eastenders the song was sung at Denise Wicks' "funeral."

In the 1984 comedy film Revenge of the Nerds, when the nerds give their first party for seemingly African American fraternity, some member in "Nerds" put this song on and some other member quickly changes the song.

In the 1997 film Con Air, racially motivated criminal 'Diamond Dog' Jones sings the chorus of this song before executing his victims.

In the 1993 film Addams Family Values, Gomez Addams sings the song when faced with his family in ruins.

In Garfield: The Movie, the titular cat sings this song when he is locked in a cage.

In the TV Series Bones, in the episode "The Double Death of the Dearly Departed", Seeley Booth starts singing the song in order to break up a fight at a funeral as well as create a diversion for the team's investigation.

In the HBO original series "Oz (TV series)", Omar White practices the Chorus line numerous times.

In the TV series Scrubs (S08e07 - "My New Role"), Elliot is chastised for having sung the song at karaoke. Later in the show, she is seen singing the song and is slowly approached by a bewildered-looking black doctor. Elliot cheerfully says Hi and continues singing.

In Psych, Gus performs an a cappella version of the song with his former bandmates from college at the funeral of one of the members.

In the Prison Break episode "And Then There Were 7," T-Bag sings the song to deliberately annoy another inmate, Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin, who is African-American.

In the Futurama episode "A Tale of Two Santas," Bender sings the song while being executed by massive electromagnets.

In Mel Brooks' film Blazing Saddles, Lyle attempts to get the slave laborers to sing and recommends this song. They mutter to each other and look back at him in dismay before he tries another tune.

See also [link]

• Songs of the Underground Railroad
• Cwm Rhondda
• Flower of Scotland
• Ireland's Call

Footnotes [link]

1. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943 (Blues and Gospel Records), Oxford University Press (1997), page 23 - ISBN 0-19-816239-1
2. ^ Brooks, Tim. Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919, University of Illinois Press (2004), page 258 - ISBN 0-252-02850-3
3. ^ ^{a b} "The story behind "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and how it became a rugby anthem.". everyhit.com. https://www.everyhit.com/stories/swing_low_sweet_chariot.html. Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
4. ^ "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". rfu.com. https://www.rfu.com/microsites/museum/index.cfm?fuseaction=faqs.slsc. Retrieved 2007-08-01. 
5. ^ Oliver Price Blood, mud and aftershave in The Observer Sunday February 5, 2006, Section O is for Oti
6. ^ Hash House Harriers, Hash Songs,Ankara Hash House Harriers Retrieved 2009-02-07
7. ^ Hugh Farrelly. Oti the man to blame as 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' continues to roll, Irish Independent 13 March 2008
8. ^ England rugby heroes head home BBC, 24 November 2003

External links [link]

• Listen to an a'cappella version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot - sung by Gail Selkirk
• Hash House Harrier version of gestures for 'Swing Low'
• Swing Low Sweet Chariot for choir