Brady Toops grew up in New London, a small town in the west-central part of… Read Full Bio ↴Brady Toops grew up in New London, a small town in the west-central part of Minnesota. A three sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, and baseball), Brady not only succeeded on the field but in the classroom as well. After graduating at the top of his class in 2000 (New London-Spicer High School), Brady went on to play baseball at the University of Arkansas.

In 2004, as one of the captains of his team, Brady helped lead the Razorbacks to the College World Series and was named 2004 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was then drafted in the 10th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and went on to play 3 seasons in their Minor League organization, earning Midwest League All-Star Honors in 2005.

After being released in the middle of the 2006 season while playing with the West Palm Beach Cardinals (Advanced-A), Brady went on to pursue a career in music. In the last year Brady has resided in Kansas City, MO and Franklin, TN spending his time songwriting, recording, worship leading, playing concerts, and speaking at various places around the United States. You can view his latest release, an EP called "A Little Love" on iTunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-little-love-ep/id445643276

Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Brady Toops Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a land beyond the river that we call the sweet forever
And we only reach that shore by faith's decree
One by one we all will get there passing thru the door of despair
When they ring that golden bell for you and me

Don't you hear the bells now ringing, don't you hear the angels singing out their tune
Tis' the glory hallelujah, the light of heaven shining thru ya so very soon
Just beyond that shining river when they ring that golden bell for me and you (*Ending: Tag)

We shall know no sin nor sorrow in the harbor of tomorrow
When our ships all sail beyond the earth beneath
We shall only know the blessings, no more doubt and no more guessing
When they ring that golden bell for you and me

Oooooooooooooooh
And when our days shall know their number, when in death we sweetly slumber
When the King commands our spirits to be free

Nevermore with anguish laden, we shall reach our final haven
When they ring that golden bell for you and me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Brady Toops's song "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" talk about the concept of an afterlife and the hope of transcending the earthly plane to a spiritual realm. The land beyond the river is the sweet forever, a place where all souls hope to reach by faith's decree. The journey to this land cannot be made by physical means, but through the soul's unwavering faith. The path to reach this land is described as passing through the door of despair, suggesting that the journey to the afterlife is complex and not without its challenges.

The song assures the listener that when they reach this spiritual realm, they will never again experience sin or sorrow. Instead, they will only be blessed with the light of heaven shining through them, as the angels sing glory hallelujah. The metaphorical use of the "golden bell" is one that people use to signify the start or end of something special. In this case, it signifies the moment when the listener has reached their final haven, and when they hear the bell, they will know that they have arrived.

Overall, this song encourages the listener to hold on to their faith and belief in the afterlife, no matter how hard life gets. It reminds us that there is a sweet forever beyond this physical realm, and that one day we will be called to our final haven by the sound of a golden bell.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a land beyond the river that we call the sweet forever
There is a peaceful place after this life that we call eternal happiness

And we only reach that shore by faith's decree
We can only reach that paradise by believing and having faith in it

One by one we all will get there passing thru the door of despair
We all will reach there one day by crossing through the tough times of our lives

When they ring that golden bell for you and me
When our time comes, we will hear a bell that will take us to that peaceful place

Don't you hear the bells now ringing, don't you hear the angels singing out their tune
Can't you hear the sound of that bell ringing and angels singing a beautiful melody?

Tis' the glory hallelujah, the light of heaven shining thru ya so very soon
It's the glory of heaven, and soon we will experience the brightness of that world

Just beyond that shining river when they ring that golden bell for me and you (*Ending: Tag)
That golden bell will take us to a beautiful life that awaits just beyond the river, for you and me

We shall know no sin nor sorrow in the harbor of tomorrow
In that peaceful place, we will be free from sin and all sorrows that we face on this earth

When our ships all sail beyond the earth beneath
When we leave this earth and go beyond it, like a ship sailing in the ocean

We shall only know the blessings, no more doubt and no more guessing
We will only experience blessings and no more doubts or fears

When they ring that golden bell for you and me
When that bell rings, we will know that it is our time to leave and experience eternal peace

And when our days shall know their number, when in death we sweetly slumber
When our time comes, and we die, we will sleep peacefully

When the King commands our spirits to be free
When God allows our spirits to be free from the physical body

Nevermore with anguish laden, we shall reach our final haven
No more pain and sadness, we will reach our final destination

When they ring that golden bell for you and me
When we hear that special bell, we will know that it is our time to leave for the paradise that awaits us

Contributed by Lucy P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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