Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

For the album by Paul Robeson, see Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (album).
"Swing Low" redirects here. For the album by Sam Cooke, see Swing Low (album).
"Swing Low Sweet Chariot"
Page from The Jubilee Singers (1873)
Song
WrittenAfter 1865
GenreSpirituals
Songwriter(s)Minerva Willis
Wallace Willis
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
Performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African-American spiritual song and one of the best-known Christian hymns. Originating in early African-American musical traditions, the song was probably composed in the late 1860s by Wallace Willis and his daughter Minerva Willis, both Choctaw freedmen. Performances by the Hampton Singers and the Fisk Jubilee Singers brought the song to the attention of wider audiences in the late 19th century.[1] The earliest known recording of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was recorded in 1894, by the Standard Quartette.[2]

The song uses the theme of death to remind the audience of the glory that awaits in Heaven, when Christians believe they will transcend the earthly world of suffering and come to rest in their final home. Specifically, the text refers to the Old Testament account of the Prophet Elijah's ascent into Heaven by chariot.[1] The stylistic elements and thematic content are highly typical to those of other spirituals. The song is characterized by its use of repetition as a key poetic element, powerful imagery, personal rhetoric, and potentially coded lyrics. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was traditionally performed as a call-and response tune. Its free-form structure intentionally allows for improvisation and spur-of-the-moment changes made to bring the performers and audience to a state of ecstasy and connection with the Holy Spirit. The melody is pentatonic.

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.[3] 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.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". Hymnary.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  2. ^ hennessey. "Earliest Recording Of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' Discovered On Wax Cylinder". Archeophone Records. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  3. ^ "2002 | View Registry by Induction Years | Recording Registry | National Recording Preservation Board | Programs | Library of Congress". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  4. ^ "CNN.com - Entertainment - Songs of the Century - March 7, 2001". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.