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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an American Negro spiritual. The first recording was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1909. 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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was composed by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory, sometime before 1862. He was inspired by the Red River which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah being taken to heaven by a chariot. Some scholars (see Songs of the underground railroad) believe this song and "Steal Away"—also composed by Willis—had some hidden lyrics referring to the Underground Railroad. Alexander Reid, a minister at a 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 then 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 most famously during this period, by Joan Baez during the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival. The song was adopted by England rugby union fans during the last match of the 1988 season. Traditional lyricsLyrics are as follows: Chorus (in bold): Swing low, sweet chariot I looked over Jordan and what did I see (chorus) Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down (chorus) The brightest day that I can say (chorus) If I get there before you do (chorus) If you get there before I do (chorus) Notable cover versionsAnother 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:
Secular usageUsage in rugby unionSwing Low, Sweet Chariot has been sung by British rugby players and fans for some decades[4] , 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.[5][6][4] The England national rugby union team returned from the 2003 World Cup triumph in Australia on a plane dubbed 'Sweet Chariot' [1]. Recordings of the song coinciding with England's participation at the Rugby World CupThe song became the England Rugby World Cup theme for 1991, when performed by "Union featuring the England World Cup Squad". It reached #16 on the UK singles chart. The song was then covered in 1995 for that year's tournament by Ladysmith Black Mambazo with China Black and reached #15 on the chart. 1999's tournament saw Russell Watson record a version which had less success, only peaking at #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 #23, but following England's victory in the tournament returned to reach #15. A new version has been recorded by Blake for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. (UK chart information from www.everyhit.com) Gestures that sometimes accompany the song
Here is one version of the gestures for the chorus as done by rugby union fans, Hash House Harriers and US air force fighter pilots:
The gestures continue in a similar vein for the rest of the lyrics. These gestures are also used as a drinking game. The first person to incorrectly give the gestures for this song is required to buy the next round of drinks. Swing Low is also the "Hash Hymn" and 'official' ending to many Hash House Harriers circles. The basic lyrics and gestures are the same as described here although there are many, many variations including: Scooby-Doo, Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, Christopher Reeve, Raul Julia ,silent, humming, harlots and your neighbour. Footnotes
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