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)
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)
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)
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)
Background
This african american spiritual was composed by Choctaw freedman Wallis Willis. He was inspired by the biblical story of Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot. Willis lived in the old Indian territory and wrote this song sometime before 1862. Alexander Reid was a minister who heard Wallis sing. He transcribed the song into musical notation and sent it to Nashville where the Jubilee singers popularized it. It became popular once again during the folk revival of the 1960’s.
