As well as his solo recordings and as The Tony Rice Unit, he was a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet (setting the guitar standard for the bluegrass-jazz fusion music often called Dawg after the bearded facial appearance of David Grisman) and The Bluegrass Album Band. He has also recorded as Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice, Norman Blake & Tony Rice, Tony Rice & David Grisman, Tony Rice & John Carlini, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Tony Rice, Peter Rowan & Tony Rice, and John Hartford, Tony Rice & Vassar Clements.
Rice spanned the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, to songwriter-oriented folk. He is remembered as perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flatpicked guitar since Clarence White. Over the course of his career, he played alongside J.D. Crowe and the New South, David Grisman (during the formation of “Dawg Music”), led his own groups, collaborated with fellow picker Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. He recorded with drums, piano, soprano sax, and with straight-ahead bluegrass instrumentation.
Rice was born in Danville, Virginia but grew up in California, where he was introduced to bluegrass by his father. He and his brothers learned a lot from hot L.A. pickers like the Kentucky Colonels, led by Roland and Clarence White. Crossing paths with fellow enthusiasts like Ry Cooder, Herb Pederson and Chris Hillman reinforced the strength of the music he had learned from his father.
In 1970, Rice moved back to Kentucky where he played with the Bluegrass Alliance, and shortly thereafter, J.D. Crowe’s New South. The New South was known as one of the best and most progressive bluegrass groups - even adding drums and electric instruments. But when Ricky Skaggs joined up in 1974, the band recorded J.D. Crowe & the New South, an acoustic album that became Rounder’s top-seller up to that time. With Rice on guitar and vocals, Crowe on banjo and vocals, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Skaggs on fiddle and mandolin and Bobby Slone on bass, the band’s energy, as well as their instrumental and vocal drive have rarely been matched.
Around this time Rice met mandolinist David Grisman, who played with Red Allen during the ‘60s and was now working on some original material that blended jazz, bluegrass and classical styles. Rice left the New South and moved to California to join Grisman’s all instrumental group. As part of the David Grisman Quintet, Rice expanded his horizons beyond three chord bluegrass, studying chord theory, learning to read charts and expanding the range of his playing.
In 1979, he left the group to pursue his own music. He recorded Acoustics, a guitar-oriented record, and then Manzanita which collected some favorite folk and bluegrass vocals. In 1980, Rice, Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson and Todd Phillips formed a highly successful coalition, attacking bluegrass standards under the name the Bluegrass Album Band. This group recorded six volumes of music.
Rice’s solo career hit its stride with Cold on the Shoulder, a collection of bluegrass vocals. With this album, Native American and Me & My Guitar, Rice arrived at a formula that incorporated his disparate influences, combining bluegrass, the songwriting of folk artists like Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs and especially Gordon Lightfoot, with nimble, jazz-inflected guitar work. Simultaneously, he pursued his jazz and experimental “spacegrass” with the Tony Rice Unit on Mar West, Still Inside and Backwaters.
Two highly regarded albums with traditional guitar virtuoso Norman Blake gained a great deal of acclaim, as well as two Rice Brother albums that reunited him with his younger brother, Wyatt. Tony Rice remained one of bluegrass’ top instrumentalists and singers, bringing originality and vitality to everything he played.
Official Website: Tony Rice
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Tony Rice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comin' for to carry me home
There was a band of angels, a-comin' after me
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
I'm sometimes up, and I'm sometimes down
Comin' for to carry me home
But but I know my soul is heavenly bound
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
If you get there before I do
Comin' for to carry me home
Tell all my friends that I'm a-comin' too
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
And now they're comin' for to carry me home
The lyrics to Tony Rice's song "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" are a powerful expression about death and the afterlife. The singer reflects on his journey through life and his eventual end, which he sees as a return to his heavenly home. In the first verse, he describes looking out over Jordan and seeing a band of angels coming for him. This imagery represents the spiritual journey of the soul leaving the body and being carried home by the angels.
The chorus, "Swing low, sweet chariot, comin' for to carry me home," repeats several times throughout the song and serves as a reminder of the singer's imminent death and his hope for a peaceful journey home. The second verse acknowledges the vulnerability of life, with the line "I'm sometimes up, and I'm sometimes down" referring to the ups and downs of everyday life. Despite this, the singer remains confident in his faith and believes that his soul is "heavenly bound" and will be carried home by the angels.
The final verse speaks directly to the singer's friends and loved ones, asking them to spread the message that he is "comin' too" and will join them in his heavenly home. Overall, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" is a reflective and powerful expression of faith and the hope for a peaceful journey into the afterlife.
Line by Line Meaning
I looked over Jordan and what did I see?
As I surveyed Jordan, what appeared before my eyes?
Comin' for to carry me home
Angels approaching to transport me to the afterlife
There was a band of angels, a-comin' after me
I witnessed a group of heavenly beings pursuing me
Swing low, sweet chariot
Come down, kind carriage
I'm sometimes up, and I'm sometimes down
My life experiences include both highs and lows
But but I know my soul is heavenly bound
Regardless, I am confident that my soul belongs in Heaven
If you get there before I do
In the event that you arrive in the afterlife before me
Tell all my friends that I'm a-comin' too
Please inform my acquaintances that I will also be joining them
And now they're comin' for to carry me home
The angels are now approaching to transport me to my afterlife destination
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TRADITIONAL, FRANCESCO MOCCHI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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