Swing Low, Sweet Chariot


"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African-American spiritual song. The earliest known recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University. It refers to the Biblical story of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot.
In 2002, the US 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 in what is now Choctaw County, near the County seat of Hugo, Oklahoma sometime after 1865. He may have been inspired by the sight of the Red River, by which he was toiling, which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to heaven by a chariot. Some sources claim that this song and "Steal Away" had lyrics that referred to the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped black people escape from Southern slavery to the North and Canada.
Alexander Reid, a minister at the Old Spencer Academy, 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 popularized the songs during a tour of the United States and Europe.
In 1939, Nazi Germany's Reich Music Examination Office added the song to a listing of "undesired and harmful" musical works.
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.
Oklahoma State Senator Judy Eason McIntyre from Tulsa proposed a bill nominating "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" as the Oklahoma State official gospel song in 2011. The bill was co-sponsored by the Oklahoma State Black Congressional Caucus. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the bill into law on May 5, 2011, at a ceremony at the Oklahoma Cowboy Hall of Fame; making the song the official Oklahoma State Gospel Song.

Traditional lyrics

Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus

Film and television appearances

The song has frequently been used in films and television.
A popular early recording was by the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet for Victor Records on December 1, 1909, and two years later the Apollo Jubilee Quartette recorded the song on Monday, February 26, 1912, Columbia Records, New York City.
Since then, numerous versions have been recorded including those by Bing Crosby, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, Louis Armstrong, Sam Cooke, Vince Hill, Peggy Lee, and Paul Robeson.

Biviano Accordion Sextette

The noted jazz accordionist/composer John Serry Sr. recorded the composition with the jazz guitarist Tony Mottola
as members of the Biviano Accordion & Rhythm Sextette in 1947 for Sonora Records on the album Accordion Capers.

Eric Clapton

ian Eric Clapton recorded a reggae version of the song for his 1975 studio album There's One in Every Crowd. RSO Records released it with the B-side "Pretty Blue Eyes" as a seven-inch gramophone single in May the same year, produced by Tom Dowd. His version reached various singles charts, including Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Weekly chart performance

Use in rugby union

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" has been sung by rugby players and fans for some decades, and there are associated gestures, sometimes used in a drinking game, which requires those who wrongly perform the gestures to buy a round of drinks. Folk singer Joe Stead claimed he introduced it to the rugby fraternity as early as 1960 after hearing it from civil rights activist Paul Robeson. An article published in Tatler in 1966 described a "tradition" at the West Park bar at Twickenham of patrons singing the song whilst swaying as one, shoulder-to-shoulder. It became associated with the English national side, in particular, in 1988.

First documented singing at Twickenham (1987)

The World Rugby Museum in 2020 unearthed archive footage of Swing Low being sung at Twickenham when Martin Offiah, played in the 1987 Middlesex Sevens tournament. The curator of the museum believes the crowd at Twickenham would already have known Swing Low because it had been sung in rugby clubs since the 1960s, with rude gestures illustrating the words.

First documented singing at an England international match (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. The official account of this occasion from England Rugby is that a group of fans from Market Bosworth rugby club in the West Stand started singing the song before it was taken up by the rest of the crowd. Another account states that a group of boys from Douai School were the ones in the crowd to begin singing the song before it was taken up by other fans. The song is still regularly sung at matches by English supporters.

2020 review

In 2020 the Rugby Football Union, in response to the increased interest in the Black Lives Matter movement after the killing of George Floyd, said it was "reviewing" fans' use of the song. Former rugby player Brian Moore and Prince Harry both argued that the song should no longer be sung in rugby contexts. Former Barbarian and Rugby League Hall of Fame player Martin Offiah shortly afterwards said that he thought the song should be retained as an opportunity to educate England's and other nationalities' rugby fans about racial discrimination and Black history. Former England player Maggie Alphonsi said "I think it's good the RFU are having a review, but I don't agree with it being banned". Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the song should not be banned as people should "focus less on the symbols of discrimination".

"Swing Low" record releases – associated with England's participation at the Rugby World Cup

1991

The song became the England Rugby World Cup theme for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, when performed by "Union featuring the England World Cup Squad". It reached number 16 on the UK singles chart.

1995

The song was then covered in 1995 for that year's tournament by British reggae duo China Black together with South African male choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It reached number 15 on the chart, selling 200,000 copies.

1999

featured Russell Watson record a version which had less success, only peaking at number 38 on the UK chart.

2003

The song enjoyed more success in 2003's tournament, but included the album Homegrown, when recorded by UB40 and the United Colours of Sound. It originally peaked at number 23, but following England's victory in the tournament returned to reach number 15. In the wake of the tournament, UB40 performed the song at a concert at the NEC Arena Birmingham that was attended by England rugby fans and captain Martin Johnson. The England national rugby union team returned from the 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph in Australia on a plane dubbed "Sweet Chariot".

2007

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

2011

For the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, all-girl group Our Lady Muse released an England Rugby World Cup Song. An upbeat party anthem version of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – The Song was premiered at the "Polo Rocks" concert in aid of The Prince's Trust.

2015

English singer Ella Eyre released a cover version of the song on 7 September 2015 as a digital download in association with England Rugby, to coincide with the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the song raising money for England Rugby's All Schools programme. The song was produced by Glyn Aikins and Mojam, it peaked to number 134 on the UK Singles Chart and number 87 on the Scottish Singles Chart. A music video to accompany the release of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first released onto YouTube on 10 September 2015 at a total length of three minutes and ten seconds.

Track listing

Chart performance

Release history

2019

African-American spirituals