Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Jerry Garcia Band Lyrics


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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 is coming after me, coming for to carry me home.

If you come to heaven before I do, coming for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I'll be coming there too coming for to carry me home.
Well I'm sometimes up and I'm sometimes down coming for to carry me home,
But I'd steal my soul if it ever were down coming for to carry me home





Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jerry Garcia Band's "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" refer to the biblical story of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot. The song expresses the singer's desire to be taken home to heaven by the same chariot. The opening line "Swing low, sweet chariot" is a reference to the chariot and the singer's plea to be taken home.


The second line "coming for to carry me home" indicates that the singer is longing for the chariot to come and take him to his spiritual home. The third line "I looked over Jordan and what did I see" is a reference to the river Jordan, which in Christian mythology is viewed as a barrier between life and death. The singer is saying that he has looked beyond the barriers of life and into the afterlife, seeing the chariot coming for him.


The final lines of the song express the singer's belief that he may have his up and down moments in life, but he would still want his soul to be saved and taken home. The overall theme of the song is that the singer is ready to leave his earthly life and find peace in the spiritual world where he rightfully belongs.


Line by Line Meaning

Swing low, sweet chariot coming for to carry me home
I am waiting for a divine vehicle to take me back to heaven.


I looked over Jordan and what did I see coming for to carry me home
As I was looking across the Jordan River, I saw a group of celestial beings coming to escort me to heaven.


A band of angels is coming after me, coming for to carry me home
I am getting ready to be taken to heaven by a multitude of divine angels.


If you come to heaven before I do, coming for to carry me home
If you go to heaven before I do, please inform my buddies that I'm also on my way.


Tell all my friends I'll be coming there too coming for to carry me home
Please let my friends know that I am also headed to heaven.


Well I'm sometimes up and I'm sometimes down coming for to carry me home
Though I go through emotional highs and lows, I know God's celestial entourage will nevertheless come to take me home.


But I'd steal my soul if it ever were down coming for to carry me home
Even if my spirit becomes unhappy or demoralized, I would still make my way to heaven by hook or crook.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FRANCESCO MOCCHI

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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