Swing low, sweet chariot
Swing low, sweet chariot. African American spiritual*.
In A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies (Cincinnati, 1883), edited by Marshall W. Taylor, this has six stanzas, with a tune attributed to Jesse Munday. One source attributes it to Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in what is now Oklahoma, whose singing was written down by Alexander Reid, a minister. It has a strong element of the ‘revival’ tradition, with an emphasis on salvation:
The brightest day that ever I saw,Coming for to carry me home;When Jesus washed my sins away,Coming for to carry me home.
There follows the Chorus:
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home (sung twice)
Followed by the remaining...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Swing low, sweet chariot."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 13 Jan. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/swing-low,-sweet-chariot>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Swing low, sweet chariot."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed January 13, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/s/swing-low,-sweet-chariot.