Wallis Willis · American spiritual · G major · 4/4 · 76 BPM · 8 bars · Folk & traditional
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot sits in Folk & traditional, written in G major. It uses 3 chords across 8 bars, at about 76 BPM.
GCD7
G
C
D7
| 1 | G | C / G | · | D7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | G | C / G | D7 | G |
Slow and swaying, three chords going round eight bars. Twice it steps out to C and back to G; press the voice down a little each time and it takes on the weight of a spiritual. With so much repetition it is a good song for going round and round the same place.
| Keys | Chord chart |
|---|---|
| C major | C · F · C · G7 · C · F · C · G7 · C |
| Db major | Db · Gb · Db · Ab7 · Db · Gb · Db · Ab7 · Db |
| D major | D · G · D · A7 · D · G · D · A7 · D |
| Eb major | Eb · Ab · Eb · Bb7 · Eb · Ab · Eb · Bb7 · Eb |
| E major | E · A · E · B7 · E · A · E · B7 · E |
| F major | F · Bb · F · C7 · F · Bb · F · C7 · F |
| F# major | F# · B · F# · C#7 · F# · B · F# · C#7 · F# |
| G major · Written in this key | G · C · G · D7 · G · C · G · D7 · G |
| Ab major | Ab · Db · Ab · Eb7 · Ab · Db · Ab · Eb7 · Ab |
| A major | A · D · A · E7 · A · D · A · E7 · A |
| Bb major | Bb · Eb · Bb · F7 · Bb · Eb · Bb · F7 · Bb |
| B major | B · E · B · F#7 · B · E · B · F#7 · B |
An American spiritual attributed to Wallis Willis in the late 1860s and published in the 19th century, long out of copyright. As with most folk material the words vary between versions and there is no standard text. The late-1860s origin and the attribution to Willis were checked by search.