Music Is Meant For Sharin’. Includin’ Former Slave Spirituals.
Music Is A Natural Healer & Sport Can Be A Social Game Changer. The Two Go Together.
Swing Low & Aim High. Don’t Just Ban Things. Instead Learn Something!
Natural Musical Evolution
Before These More Modern Singers The Fisk University Singers Set Out On A Funding Raising Tour Across The World on 6 October 1871. It Included A Performance Before Queen Victoria At The London Palladium. They Would Sing ‘Swing Low’ As Part of Their Repertoire
The UK’s Rugby Anthem ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ Was Re-born On Television In Front of Thousands of People In The UK In The 80’s & 90’s ~ After Bein’ Inspired By The Bible, Conceived In Slavery, And Delivered In London By Civil Rights Activist Paul Robeson In The 60s. It Has Been Recorded By Many Different Artists Since Bein’ Composed By Enslaved Man Wallace Wallis In The 1800s, Due It’s Endurin’ Popularity.
It Should Not Be Banned From Rugby Stadiums, No More Than They Should Ban Jerusalem – A Former Protest Poem Turned Religious Hymn Sung At Sportin’ Events.
The Practice of Raising Educational Funds Through The Art of Jubilee Singing Became Something of A Tradition Before The Integrated Education Case of Brown – v- Board of Education 1954. Swing Low Sweet Chariot Was A Big Favourite. Quartets Were Very Popular.
The Fact That The Fisk University Singers Who Toured The World With The Song & And Performed Before Royalty Called Themselves The Jubilee Singers & Had A Genre of Music Named After Them Reflects The Spirit In Which The Song Was Sung. The Clue Is In The Name. Jubilation Was The Name of The Game. They Wanted To Be Heard. They Wanted The Music To Be Shared. And Havin’ Been Victims of Discrimination Themselves They Never Ordered Any Discriminatory Edit As To Who Could & Could Not Sing It. The Song Has Been Adopted By Oklahoma As The State Gospel Song. English Rugby Have Also Adopted It As Their Anthemic Rugby Song. In This Dual Existence There Is Absolutely Nothing Wrong.
(Part Two of A Two Part Special. First Part September 2020)
In The First Part of This Two Part Special Feature We Highlighted:
1. The Biblical Inspiration For The Song
2. The Creation of The Song
3. The Royal Association of The Song
4. The Song’s Second Journey Across The Atlantic
5. It’s Arrival In UK Rugby Clubs
In This Second Part We Look At:
1. How ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ Came To The Attention & Consciousness of The Nation On National Television At Twickenham In Front of Thousands of Fans And Experienced A Rebirth To Become England’s Rugby Anthem
2. How Over The Years The Song Has Been Re-incarnated By Different Artists Includin’ Black And White Performers Creatin’ Different Versions & Styles. They Illustrate The Inevitability That Different Versions, Elements And Words of The Song Will Impact Different People, In Different Ways, At Different Times.
Songs Are Not Static. Music Evolves. It Can Mean Different Things To Different People. At Different Times. Singing Is Not One Dimensional. It’s A Vocal, Physical, Spiritual Release And Not Just The Creation of Sound Through The Expression of Words. As Sir Elton John Says, It Can Be Healin’. Gettin Into The Spirit of Things Does Not Have To Be Religious. It Can Be About Tone, Style, or Participation In Particular Event. As The Late South African President Nelson Mandela Said, It Can Be Uniquely Unifyin.’Knowin’ & Sharing’ History Is Key.
For These Reason’s It Is Not Socially Acceptable To Dictate Who Can & Cannot Sing Certain Socially Acceptable Songs. Just As It Would Be Totally Wrong & Unacceptable To Officially Ban African-American, African-British, African-Caribbean, British-Caribbean or Any Other Black Singers From Singin’ Opera Because Historically It Is Associated With Italy. We Cannot Ban The Singin’ of ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ Because The Song Was Composed By A Slave Durin’ The American Slave Trade & Planation Era.
The Practical Way To Protect Against Erasure And Mis-Appropriation of The Song, Is By Acknowledgement, Recognition & Respect of It Through Social, Cultural, And Educational Means. And With Legal Backin’ If Needs Be. However Singin’ & Performance’ Rights Are Not Generally The Concern of The Audience & Participants But Instead Are Dealt With By Record Companies, Producers, Performers, Lawyers & Administrators, And Credited To The Composer Behind The Scenes As Soon As Possible. It Has Little or Nothin’ To Do With The Consumer Nor Front of House. A Ban Therefore Is Wholly Inappropriate & Impractical.
Jersusalem Was Originally A Protest Poem Song Against The Industrial Revolution (1760-1820) Written By William Blake In 1804. He Imagined His Own Version of A Jerusalem Symbolic of Rejuvenation, Greenary, And Heaven. Again It Is A Fantasical Bible Inspired Dream of A Time Before Destructive Systematic Dominance. The Words Meant It Was Selected As Part of A Collection of Patriotic Songs Durin’ WWI And Was Set To Music By Choral Composer Hubert Parry In 1916. Elgar Adapted It With His Own Arrangement In 1922. It Has Since Been Adopted By The Women’s Institute, By Different Nationals As An Alternative To The English National Anthem “God Save The Queen” And Also By Various Sportin’ Event Organisers. Yet At The Same Time It Is Still Used As A Hymn Free For Everyone To Sing.
Consider Also The Iconic Love Song ‘I Will Always Love You’. Written & Recorded By Dolly Parton. Later Sung By Whitney Houston. Dolly Is A Global Superstar With A Country Sound. Whitney Houston Was Global Superstar With An R & B Soul Sound. Even Though She Did Not Write It, Her Version of It Far Outsold & Outshone Dolly’s Version, A Fact Which Dolly Graciously Acknowledges Sayin “She Made Me Rich”. The Used At Different Special Occassions Across The Land & Around The World. It Was Written By Dolly Parton For Her Music Mentor Because She Had Outgrown Him And Could Only Communicate That She Needed To Leave Him Through A Song. Whitney’s People Then Legally Negotiated The Rights For Her To Record It. And She Sang It Totally Differently. And It Was Then Used As The Love Song Theme Song For The 1992 Film The Body Guard. It Would Be Impossible To Ban People Usin’ It That Song For Various Things, At Various Times. Such As, Romance, Seduction, Weddings, Anniversaries, Going Away Occassions’, Funerals.
Three Black Rugby Superstars Behind The Sweet Chariot Story & How It Became The Rugby Anthem It Is Today
James Peters Martin Offiah Chris Oti
Two Particular Years, Two Particular Players, Two Particular Fan Groups & One Main Stadium And One Unsung Hero All Played Their Part & Eventually Combined To Cement ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot Into The Nation’s Rugby Consciousness’ And Cement It As The Song Rugby Fans Love To Sing The Most In Fightin’ Spirit & With Good Humour.
Respectively These Are 1987 And 1998. Chris Oti And Martin Offiah, The Douai Abbey Independent Benedictine School And The Boswell Market Rugby Club. Twickenham Stadium. And James Peters.
1987 & 1998 Were Two Important Historic Years For Rugby Union & Their Iconic Status Features Two Pioneering Black Sportsmen Who Helped Make The Song Become Nationally Established As England’s Rugby Anthem. And They Were Standin’ On The Shoulders of Another Black Sportsment Who Had Helped Break Down Racial Barriers Many Years Before Them But Never Received The Same Recognition. In The Same The RFU Bought ‘Twickenham Market Garden’ As The Home Ground Location For RFU, 1907, James Peters Became The First Black SportsMan To Play Rugby For England.
1907, British Jamaican Rugby Pioneer James Peters,
England v Scotland, Blackheath, South London
In 1907 When The Nations Championships Was Infact Just Against The Four Home Nations, The First Black Man To Play Rugby For England, James Peters, An Orphaned British Jamaican, Scored A Try For England At Blackheath Rectory Field In A Scotland V England Match. However Scotland Went On To Win 8-3. James Retired In 1913 3 Years After France Joined The Championships In 2010.
Racism (From Other Teams, South Africa In Particular) Was Rife At The Time And Blatant. For Instance He Was Known As “Darkie Peters” (Amongst Other Things). But He Endured & Paved The Way. And No Doubt He Is Lookin’ Down From Heaven, Happy That Things Are Much Different Today. Even If, As George Floyd’s Murder Illustrates, Racism Has Not Totally Gone Away.
An Annual Challenge Game Is Still Held In Honour of James Peters By Greenwich Admirals Rugby League Club.
1987, Martin Offiah,
(Former) Middlesex Sevens Tournament, Twickenham (Injury)
I987 Was A Vintage Year In Rugby. New Rugby Sensation Martin Offiah Was Drawing In Fans Due To His Reputation For Speed & Scoring Tries. Twickenham, Saturday March 7 1987, Saw Glorious Sunshine, A Sellout Crowd, And Defending Champions, Harlequins, In The Final Against Vistors Rosslyn Park Who Had Martin “Chariots of Fire” Offiah On Their side.
Unearthed BBC Footage Shows The Crowd Singing The Song In Encouragement of Martin “Chariots” Offiah & His Team. Ultimately Harlequins Won After Offiah Sustained A Fracture Injury & Was Playing At Half Capacity, During This Middlesex Sevens Tournament. He Was Nicknamed ‘Chariots’ As A Double Play On Words, Firstly Because He Was So Fast And Secondly Because His Surname ‘Offiah’ Bought To Mind The Oscar Winnin’ 1981 Film Chariots of Fire About The First 4 Minute Mile.
This Appears To Be The First Recorded Case of Swing Low Being Sung On The National Stage. Offiah Was Awarded An MBE In 1997 For His Services To Rugby In & His Heading Up The Rugby League World Tour Next Year (2021). He Appeared In Strictly 10 Years Earlier In 2011. Notwithstandin’ This It Was The Followin’ Year With Another Player That The Anthem Really Took Off Big Style.
1988, Chris Oti,
(Former) Five’ Nations Championship, England v Ireland, Twickenham (Outstandin’ Hat-Trick)
The Current Six Nations Championship Began In 1882 With Just The Four Home Nations England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales. France Joined In 1910. And Italy Joined Ninety Years Later In 2000. In 1988 Oti Was Playing In What Was Still The 5 Nations.
The Player From Cambridge, Made His International Debut Playing For England Against Ireland, At Twickenham & Sensationally Scored Three Tries. At The Time Tries Were Very Rare & Kicking Was King. The Crowd Went Wild. It Was Electric. Gary Rees Scored The First Try. Oti The Next Three. Rory Underwood The Last Two. England Won 29 – 3 After Trailing In The First Half 3 – 0. The Second Half Play Was Like Night & Day. It Was Totally Unexpected & Nothing The Fans Had Ever Seen Before. ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’, By Now Long Since Established As A Rugby Club Favourite Rang Out In Song From The Fans From When Rees Scored The First Try To When Underwood Scored The Last & With Oti’s Magic In The Middle.
Twickenham, Douai Abbey Benedictine School & Market Boswell Rugby Club
Twickenham
Two Main Contingents Are Historically Credited For Starting The Singing of Swing Low Sweet Chariot Around Twickenham Stadium That Day. TheOrator.Press Endeavoured to Reach Out To Both of Them For Comment. In Doing We Discovered The First One Has Since Closed Down. The Second One Has Conducted A Number of Interviews On The Matter & Appears To Have Official Bragging Rights, Subject To Paul Robeson’s Introduction To Joe Stead.
The Douai Abbey Benedictine Independent School For Boys‘
A Contingent From The Nearby Reading School Was At Twickenham That Day. It Had a Rugby Team & Being A Highly Religious School It Related To The Gospel Spiritual & Had Established It As It’s Own School Rugby Favourite. They Sang It Out In Encouragement Whenever Play Looked Promising. As Oti Delivered His Debut Try For England At Twickenham They Sang It With Extra Heart. Then Louder & Even More So Still When He Ran In His Second. By The Time of His Third Try Giving Him The Only Ever Debut Hat Trick At Twickenham The Singing Had Reached Fever Pitch With Excitement & The Rapturous Crescendo Gave Life To Rugby Anthem & Singing Tradition From Which Rugby Has Never Looked Back. Until Now.
Tragically The School Was Hit With A Number of Terrible Scandals With Saw Its Unholy Demise. In 1992 One of The Monks Was Convicted of Abuse At The School. Subsequently Firstly A Lack of Funding Due To An Irrecoverable Slump In Pupils Applying To Attend The School Forced It To Close In 1999. A Further Serious of Abuse Convictions Followed Again Both 2016 & 2017 For Historical Abuse.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Established Under Theresa May’s Government & New Safeguarding Practices Established Throughout Schools & Child Organisations Help Minimize The Possibility of Such Abuse Happening Again. Solicitor Dino Nocivelli of Bolt Burden Kemp Represented Some of The Victims (dinonocivelli@boltburdonkemp.co.uk)
Market Boswell Rugby Club
There Were Many Rugby Team Contingents That Day, Apart From Douai Abbey School, Including Market Boswell Rugby Club. Dave Hales From The Club Explains That Staying At The Rugby Club On A Saturday Night Drinking & Singing Songs Was Rugby Culture Then & As The Atmosphere At Twickenham Was Buzzing That Day, They Sang A Number of Rugby Songs. Nothing Really Took off With The Rest of The Crowd Until Their Rendition of Swing Low.
Bruce Coleman, One of Gang, Recalls They Definitely Sang It When Gary Rees Scored The First Try & With Oti’s Hatrick & Underwood’s Double The Points Kept Coming So They Just Kept Singing ‘Swinging Low’. The Crowd Loved It. They Also Sang It. The Song Was Subsequently Embedded In The Nation’s Rugby Consciousness Across The Country In Front of The Cameras And Swing Low From Then On Became The National Rugby Anthem.
Education Not Speculation
A Ban Is Not The Way Forward For A More Just Society. It Would Not Enlighten Us. It Would Stifle All of Us As It Would Not Allow For Open Discussion & Social Growth & Development . It Would Be More Constructive To Add Lessons About Black History, Pre & Post Slavery, The History of Police Brutality, And Social Justice Demands, To The National Curriculum & Other Seats of Learning.
But Not Just Lessons About Slavery, Brutality, Poverty, Criminality & Bad Things. Black People Are More Than That. Black People Are Not Just One Homogeneous Group Either. They Are Lawyers, Doctors, Fathers, Mothers, Lovers, Husbands, Wives, Kids, Middle Class, Working Class, Business Class & So Much More.
Let’s Explore, Not Ignore. And Let’s All Acknowledge All Our Fellow Human Beings More For Their Positive Efforts, Experiences, Achievements, Contributions, & Potential.
The Best Outcomes Are Usually Achieved When There Is A Two Way Flow of “Give & Take”. Acknowledge The History of The Song. The Meaning. It’s Natural Conception, As A Result of A Strong Christian Faith, And Wishing For The Divine Afterlife In Heaven (Home) Because Life On Earth Is So Hellish For The Enslaved African-Americans. It’s Healing Power Through Thoughts of Heaven & Hope.
Keep Its Spirit Alive In Deeds on & off The Field of Play. Give Back. Don’t Just Take Away. Be Kind. Be Caring. Be Courteous. And Do What The Good Doctor (Martin Luther King) Asked, Namely Judge Someone On The Content of Their Character, Not The Colour of Their Skin.
Ideally New Educational Inclusion Would Incorporate Oxbridge, Eton & Dr. Challoner’s Grammer School, The Former Universities & Secondary School of The Current First Secretary of State & First Secretary For Foreign Affairs.
Despite Being Highly Educated At These Esteemed Centers of Learning He Announced During A Recent LBC Radio Interview That He “Would Not Take The Knee For Anyone” But The Queen & “The Mrs”.
Apparently “The Mrs”, Wife of Dominic Raab, Disputes That He Even Did That When He Proposed. And By Implication, If He Would Only Take The Knee For Her & The Queen, God Does Not Even Get A Look In. The Fact That This Highly Educated Politician Dismissively Announced He Does Not Know The History of This Important Civil Rights Stance, & Thought It Came “From Game of Thrones or Something” Illustrates How Ignorance of Others Can Be Harmful & Led To Pre-judgement & Misunderstanding – And Be An Obstacle To Civil Rights & Racial Peace & Harmony.
Making or Taking Time To Understand or Teach The History of Kneeling Is To Understand Kneeling Is Healing, Powerful & Professional. Empathy & Respect Are Powerful Communication Skills. Knowing This History & Reflecting That Would Make Such A Big Difference & Help Prevent People Being So Disrespectful or Dismissive of It, As Though It Was Something Wholly Controversial or Fictional.
Ironically, This Ignorant Oxbridge Graduate Is One of The Best Adverts For The Need To Have A More Comprehensive & Inclusive Teachin’ of Civil Rights History, Which Is Black & White History In Schools. Black Ancestors Were Brought By The White Ruling Classes During Slavery or Invited To Come & Work After The Second World War. Generations Later Black People Constitute A Surprisingly Small But Significant Section of Society. Thus Diversity & Integration Are Important For Good Race Relations.
A Quote By Patricia Hill Collins, An African-American Studies Expert, Now At Cincinnatti University, Stands Bold & Bright In The School Corridor of A Bishop Challoner School. It As Shame Such Pearls of Wisdom & Visionary Teachin’ Where Apparently Not There When Foreign Minister Dominic Raab Was A Student At The School.
One Wonders Whether or Not In Her Capacity As Head of Her Beloved Commonwealth, The Queen Would Be Amused By The Ignorance of Her Foreign Secretary. Despite His Declaration That He Would Kneel Only To Her (With God Up In Heaven On Less Solid Ground). One Wonders Too Whether The Esteemed Seats of Learning Realize How Ignorant They Have Left This Particular Foreign Affairs Minister About Certain Elements of World History Within The Most Powerful Country In The World.
The Consequences of America’s Failure To Fully Address Those Issues Combined With The Current White House White Supremacist Administration Are Now More Than Ever On Full International Display. As A Foreign Secretary Who Demonstrated To The World His Disappointingly Limited Knowledge of Basic American History, We Can Only Hope Dominic Rabb Is At Least Somewhat More Conversant With The Commonwealth’s History & It’s Racial History With Britain.
England’s Foreign Secretary, Summer 2020 Highlighted The Issue of Social Reform By Demonstrating In A Casual, Contemptuous Manner, On Live Public Radio, That He Is Utterly Ignorant of & Dismissive About The Civil Rights Movement, & The Significance of Kneeling As A Form of Peaceful Protest And Antidote To Police Brutality.
Photo Gallery: The Fisk University Jubilee Singers – Then & Now. And David Oyelowu OBE As Dr Martin Luther King In The Movie SELMA Which Documents Why He Original Devised The Practice of Taking The Knee. It Was A Peaceful Protest In The Form of Prayer For Peace In The Face of Police Brutality Durin’ The Civil Rights Fight For The Right of Black People To Vote. It Eventually Worked After Endurin’ Horrific Evil Acts From The Police And The Law Was Changed By Republican President LB Johnson In The Votin’ Act of 1965.
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Was A Man of Faith, Courage & Great Leadership, Who Determinedly Helped Secure The Right To Vote For African Americans, By Peaceful Means In The Face of Police Brutality Extremes. In A Feat of Amazing Diplomacy He Pulled Together Support From Leaders of Different Faiths, & Presidents of The Day (Kennedy & Lyndon B Johnson).
In The Process He Wrote & Delivered One of The Most Powerful Speeches In History. Yet Dr. Challoner’s Grammer School, Nor Oxford University, Nor Cambridge, Apparently Saw Fit To Teach Such Achievements In Civil Rights History To Our Foreign Secretary. Worst Still, The Foreign Secretary Never Saw Fit To Research It Even When He Became First Foreign Minister, And Reached The Top Level of Government, And Witnessed A Worldwide Global Movement For Social Justice Reform And Domestic Peace, Without Continued Police Abuse In The Most Powerful Western Democracy.
It Grew In Unprecedented Strength, Size & Support, To Make One of The Most Powerful & Important Developments In Civil Rights History. Raab Did See Fit To Deride & Dismiss It Though By Misrepresenting It. That Is Wrong & Very Much No Longer on!
Raab’s Monumental Ignorance, As A Foreign Minister, Is Very Telling & Speaks For Itself. One Wonders Why That State of Being Exists & How It Can Be. Is It Because Great Seats of Learning & Government Institutions Believe Black Lives Do Not Matter & They Can Treat Black People Any Which Way They Please?
Because of Such Continued Bewilderment The Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) Felt The Need To Specifically State That They Do Matter.
Variety, Diversity & Gospel
Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Was Born In Chicago 4 August 1901. By The Time of His Death 6 July 1971 He Had Become One of The Most Influential Men In Jazz, Famous For His Trumpet Playing In New Orleans. He Was The First Black Man To Have His Own Radio Show, Famous For His Rich, Warm, Gravely Voice, And The Winner of A Grammy For His Vocal Performance In Hello Dolly 1964 Starring Barbara Striesand. He Was One of The First Black Musicians To “Crossover” From Black Audiences Into White, European & International Audiences & High Society, Which Was Hard To Do In His Generation. He Recorded His Version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot in 1958. Click The Video Button Above To Hear Listen
Etta James Recorded A Gospel ‘Swing Low’ With Lucky Peterson In 1983. Durin’ Her Career She Was Entered Into Both The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame & The Gospel Hall of Fame And She Also Won 6 Grammy Awards.
From Enslavement To The Present Day, Generations of Spiritual, Gospel & Soulful Singers Have Interpreted “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” In Their Own Way. Black & White. Long May It Continue As A Great Inspiration For Harnessing The Healing & Restorative Power of Faith, Singing, Hope & Winning. Bringing People Together By Sharing Common Human Sentiments Which Arise In Various Different Situations.
The London Community Gospel Choir, Beyonce, Etta James, Louis Armstrong, & Johnny Cash & Glen Miller, Among Others, Provide Some Great Examples Here.
Because Music Is Meant To Be Shared & Freely Interpreted, There Is No One Definitive Version. The Joyful, Soulfull Version By Gospel Pin up Sam Cooke Shows How The Original Flatfoot, Restrained, Missionary Hymnal Style of The Original Jubilee Singers, Evolved Into A More Personalised, Buoyant, And Free Style. As Gospel Developed & The Singers Were More Distant From The Bondage of Their Brutal Slavery. Let’s Continue To Work Towards Greater Inclusion & Liberation Rather Than Engagin’ In The Destructive Force of Discrimination.
He Entered The Hall of Fame for Rock n’ Roll, Country’ &’ Gospel Music. Very Rare. Very Talented!
Healin’ Unifyin & Cross Generational
Johnny Cash, Who Performed One of The Best Versions of Swing Low Circa 1958. Married June Carter (Who Kept Her Own Name) 1 March 1968. She Was Three Years His Senior.
Beyonce Knowles, One of The Greatest Music Stars That Ever Lived, Recorded Her Version of Swing Low In 2003. She Married Sean Carter, Aka Jay Z, & Became Mrs Carter 04 April 2008. She Is 12 Years His Junior.
Sam Cooke & Mohammed Ali Were Both Civil Rights Activists. In 1961 Cooke Recorded His Version of Swing Low With His Sweet, Smooth, Soulful, Voice. Perfect For Motown.
Glenn Miller’s Big Band Orchestra Was Hugely Popular During The Wartime Swing Time Era Circa 1939-1945
Was Hugely Popular During The Wartime Swing Time Era Circa 1939-1945
Glen Miller’s Swing Low Was Part of The Big Band Movement Styled To Motivate & Lift The Spirit of The Nation Durin’ WWII. This Again Illustrates It’s Powerful Words Can Be Used As Words of Encouragement For Society In General Not Just Slave Society & Their Descendants. But Equally Undoubtedly They Would Want There To Be Associated Education.
Modern Day Living Descendant of ‘Swing Low’ Composer ‘Wallace Willis’ Discusses The Importance of The Song In Radio Interview
Discusses What Song Means To Him After Oklahoma Officially Adopts It As The State’s Official Anthem
In 1991 A Musical Composer Charlie Skarbeck Was Commissioned To Produce Music For The World Cup.
He Wrote World In Union (Performed By Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ) & Adapted ‘Swing Low’ To Make It Swing Low (Run With The Ball) (Performed By The Team)
The Two Mrs Carters (Above) Are From Different Decades, Difference Races, & Different Places. Swing Low Sweet Chariot Nevertheless Presents Them With A Shared Cross-Generational, Professional, Musical Experience. It Facilitates Empathy, Humantiy Spirituality. And Thus A Shared Humanity. Making Connections Can Make A Big Difference. We Should Build Connections Rather Than Ban & Raise Objections.
Beyonce’s Version of Swing Low In 2003 (Came 20 Years After The Etta James Version 1983). Queen Bey’s Rendition Was Reportedly One of The Best Scenes of The Movie. It Is An Uplifting Gospel Spiritual Version Focusing On Powerful Repetition & Developent of One Particular Verse & Again Demonstrates That There Are Many Versions & Interpretations of The Song Making It Impossible To Give One Definitive Version. Click Image Above To Listen.
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Coming Forth To Carry Me Home
Swing Low Sweet Chariot0
Coming Forth To Carry Me Home
Swing Down Chariots Won’t You Let Me Ride, Oh Swing, Stop, & Let Me Ride, Oh Rock Me Lord, Rock Me Lord
Come & Ease Me, I Got A Home on The Other Side
Oh, Six White Horses Standin Side by SideOh, Six White Horses Standin Side by Side
Oh Rock Me Lord, Rock Me Lord, Come & Ease Me, I Got A Home On The Other side
Swing Low, Swing Low and Let Me Ride
Why Oh Why, Oh Why Don’t You Let Me Ride
Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride, Ride
Let me Ride, Let Me Ride, Let Me Ride, Swing Down Chariots Won’t You Let Me Ride
“It’s A Sweet Thought To Think There’s Got To Be Somethin’ A Little Better”.
Johnny Cash On Swing Low (His Version of The Song Is One of Our Favourites & Is Outlined Below (And Is Included In The Left Hand Column Above)
Verse 1
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
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Verse 2
I Never Shall Forget That Day, Coming For To Carry Me Home, Because He Washed My Sins Away, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Verse 3
If You Get Back Before I Do, Coming For To Carry Me Home, Please Tell All My Friends I’ll Be Coming There Too, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Verse 4
I’m Sometime Up, I’m Sometimes Down, Comin’ For To Carry Me Home, But I Know My Soul Is Heavenly Bound, Comin For To Carry Me Home
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home
Ella Eyre And The Rugby World Cup
Ella Eyre Download Version. England Were The First Nation To Be Knocked Out of The World Cup That Year, Which May Explain Why The Download Did Not Do So Great That year. But The Fact That A MOBO Award Winner Would Record It Reflects How Much The Song & It’s History Means To Members of The Black Community. Proceeds Went Towards RFU’s All Schools Programme. Music Is Made To Be Shared. It Should Remain Available To Be Shared By All Communities. However Those Who Share It Need To Respect It, Reflect How They Relate To It, In Sentiment At Least, & Avoid Appropriating It, By Not Whitewashing It, Trying To Erase, Ignore or Devalue Its True Origins & Original Meaning. People often Relate To The Lyrics or Chorus of A Song Even Though Their Experience Is Different To The Writer’s. So There Is No Reason We Cannot All Share & Respect The Music, Despite Having Different Interpretations & Experiences.
Mica Paris & The Jubilee Singers
In June 2020 Fisk Jubilee Singers Released Their 150th Anniversary Album Featuring Gospel & Soul Singer Cece Winans. In 2000, the group was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. 2002 their 1909 recording of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” Was Given The Official Honour of Formal Recognition InThe U.S. National Recording Registry. In 2008 President GW Bush Awarded Them The National Medal of Arts, With A Special Presentation Ceremony At The White House. Fisk University Is Also Ranked No. 1 In America Among HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) for Social Mobility. English Rugby Adoptin’ It Their Rugby Anthem Has Not Dimished It At All.
On Friday July 31 2020, BBC 4 Aired “The Gospel According To Mica” Which Was A Wonderful Review of Ssome Gospel & Spiritual Classics. Gospel & Soul Songtress Mica Paris Tells The Story of Gospel In 6 Significant Songs. She References The Fisk Jubliee Group & Sam Cooke, Both Featured Here. Currently Available On BBC iplayer.
Music Can Bring People Together Across Generations, Backgrounds, Cultures & Colours. This Largely Because The Human Commonality of Loving Music Is So Natural & Powerful. In That Sense Sharin’ Can Be Very Healing & Uniting. So Ultimately The Answer Is Not Bannin’ But Sharin’ & Learnin’ Healin’ & Unitin’. To Ban This Song From Rugby Would Be Wrong. Good Music Is Made For Sharin’. By Everybody. The Better Way To Effect Awareness & Change Is Education, Civility & Integrity. These Are The Tools That Can Help Overcome Ignorance And Bring More Tolerance, Understandin’ Healin’ Social Unity, Empathy & Harmony. And A Good Old Sing Song of Course!
We’ll Give The Last Word As To Why It Is Important To Have Freedom To Listen To, Share & Sing Different Songs And Interpret Them Accordin’ To How They Move Us, To Josh Daniels. He Was The Last X Factor Auditionee Durin’ The 2015 X Facotr Series.
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