“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3
By Shannon Pederson
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, written before 1862, was a sign of hope that someone was coming to help. Slaves needed to feel that one day they would be free, so it has always been not just an inspirational hope but a real hope. Swing Low Sweet Chariot is among the most widely recognized and frequently recorded African American spirituals of all time.
The old spiritual song was written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Mr. Willis’ roots were in the deep south where he was born in Mississippi and served as a slave. He ended up in Oklahoma because his owner was a Choctaw American Indian who was displaced to the west by the massive Indian removal projects of the 1830s. I guess you could say this song is both an African American and Native American spiritual.
Mr. Willis was inspired by the Red River, which reminded him of the River Jordan and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot.
“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and
separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” 2 Kings 2:11
Some sources claim that this song and "Steal Away," also composed by Willis, had lyrics that referred to or were a code for runaways on the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped blacks escape from Southern Slavery to the North and Canada.
The Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, Nashville, introduced this song and others to white audiences in the late 19th century. Fisk University, an all-black college, had been founded at the end of the Civil War by philanthropists and government reformers anxious to create educational opportunities for recently freed slaves. Their efforts exposed white American and European audiences to African American spirituals. The song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the 1960s Civil Rights struggle and it was performed by a number of artists, including Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Dolly Pardon, and my favorite, Harry Belafonte. Perhaps you’d enjoy hearing this version by clicking on the following link to YouTube:
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, written before 1862, was a sign of hope that someone was coming to help. Slaves needed to feel that one day they would be free, so it has always been not just an inspirational hope but a real hope. Swing Low Sweet Chariot is among the most widely recognized and frequently recorded African American spirituals of all time.
The old spiritual song was written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Mr. Willis’ roots were in the deep south where he was born in Mississippi and served as a slave. He ended up in Oklahoma because his owner was a Choctaw American Indian who was displaced to the west by the massive Indian removal projects of the 1830s. I guess you could say this song is both an African American and Native American spiritual.
Mr. Willis was inspired by the Red River, which reminded him of the River Jordan and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot.
“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and
separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” 2 Kings 2:11
Some sources claim that this song and "Steal Away," also composed by Willis, had lyrics that referred to or were a code for runaways on the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped blacks escape from Southern Slavery to the North and Canada.
The Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, Nashville, introduced this song and others to white audiences in the late 19th century. Fisk University, an all-black college, had been founded at the end of the Civil War by philanthropists and government reformers anxious to create educational opportunities for recently freed slaves. Their efforts exposed white American and European audiences to African American spirituals. The song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the 1960s Civil Rights struggle and it was performed by a number of artists, including Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Dolly Pardon, and my favorite, Harry Belafonte. Perhaps you’d enjoy hearing this version by clicking on the following link to YouTube:
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
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 you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I'm coming there too.
Coming for to carry me home
Chorus
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 you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I'm coming there too.
Coming for to carry me home
Chorus
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’” Mark 16:15