Who wrote swing low sweet chariot?

Answer 1

This is an expression, used by slaves who do not wish to live anymore, yet do not wish to commit suicide. They are hoping God will send a chariot from heaven, and use that chariot to take them home. It refers to the chariot that took Elijah home in the Old Testament of The Bible.

Another answerSweet Chariot was a coded message about the Underground Railroad. Slaves used biblical references to provide information to the slaves who wanted to escape such as the mode of transportation available and how to get to different places and other important details. Their masters thought that they were singing about God so the slaves were able to relay the information right under their noses. I found this out from one of my college professors who was the grandson of a woman born a slave but was freed when she was 7.

Answer 2

This Afro-American spiritual song was composed by Wallis Willis, a native American slave in about 1862. His local river with red clay suspended in it inspired him to write of the Jordan River and Elijah being taken to heaven in a fiery chariot.

Answer 3

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,Chorus (in bold):

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 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)

Written by: Wallis Willis, Choctaw

From the old Indian Territory prior to 1862

(chorus)

Answer 4

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first written 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's being taken to heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Many sources (see Songs of the underground railroad) claim that this song and "Steal Away"-also composed by Willis-had lyrics that referred to the Underground Railroad, the resistance movement that helped slaves escape from the South to the North and Canada.

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 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 the most famous performance during this period was that by Joan Baez during the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival.

Traditional 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 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

Answer 5

It was only written the once; the date's uncertain but before 1862 by Wallis Willis.

Answer 6

The tune of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a traditional spiritual written in the mid-nineteenth century by an African American called Wallis Wallis.

Answer 7

The earliest known recording for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was in 1909 by the Fisk Jubilee singers of Fisk University. It is an American Negro spiritual.

Answer 8

Wallis Willis wrote it.