"Swing Down Sweet Chariot" (sometimes "Swing Down, Ezekiel" or "Swing Down Chariot") is an American spiritual song. It tells the story of Ezekiel's vision of the chariot. The title and lyrics are very similar to the spiritual song " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", and is thought to be an adaptation of said song. Composer and lyricist Wallis Willis is credited with composing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". Popularized by the

Golden Gate Quartet The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singe ...

in the 1940s, it was recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

for his 1960 album ''

His Hand in Mine ''His Hand in Mine'' is the fifth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on November 23, 1960 by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, catalog number LPM/LSP 2328. It was the first of three gospel albums that Presley woul ...

'' and was re-recorded for his 1969 film '' The Trouble with Girls''. The 1960 version featured backing vocals by

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

, and the re-recording featured the Mello Men on backing vocals. The version of the song from ''The Trouble with Girls'' was reissued in the 2010 boxed set ''

The Complete Elvis Presley Masters ''The Complete Elvis Presley Masters'' is a box set by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released on October 19, 2010, by RCA Records and Legacy Recordings. The box set covers the majority of Presley's recording career, bringing together all ...

'', but this time, it features an all-female group singing background vocals. American pianist/singer Billy Preston recorded "Swing Down Chariot" for his 1971 album ''

I Wrote a Simple Song ''I Wrote a Simple Song'' is the sixth studio album by American soul musician Billy Preston. Released in November 1971, it was his first album for A&M Records and marked the start of a run of commercial success in the United States that lasted th ...

'', with arrangement credited to Preston and

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1 ...

. The funk band

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

did a version on their 1974 recording, '' Rags to Rufus'', on ABC records. The six band members: Murphy, Fischer, Khan, Stockert, Belfield, Ciner, are credited with composition. The song's chorus is quoted in the funk song " Mothership Connection (Star Child)", released in 1975 by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. That portion of "Mothership Connection" is, in turn, sampled by Dr. Dre in his

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning rap song, "

Let Me Ride "Let Me Ride" is a song by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, released in 1993 as the third single from his debut studio album, ''The Chronic''. It experienced moderate success on the charts, until it became a massive hit when Dre won a Grammy Award f ...

". The song was covered in Icelandic in 1993 as "Gullvagninn" by

Björgvin Halldórsson Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson (Alternate names: Bó Halldórsson, Björgvin Halldórsson or Bó Hall) (born 16 April 1951) is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður. He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song ...

, becoming a hit in Iceland.

References

External links

Lyrics and tab for Swing Down Sweet Chariot(Video) Swing Down Sweet Chariot sung by the Golden Gate Quartet
American folk songs Year of song missing {{Song-stub