She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
Encyclopedia
"She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" (also sometimes called simply "Coming 'Round the Mountain") is an American folk song
often categorized as children's music
. It is a derivation of a Negro spiritual known as "When the Chariot Comes".
. The she refers to the chariot
the returning Christ is imagined as driving.
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
O, who will drive the chariot,
O, who will drive the chariot,
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
King Jesus, he'll be driver when she comes,
When she comes . . . .
She'll be loaded with bright Angels
When she comes . . . .
She will neither rock nor totter,
When she comes . . . .
She will run so level and steady,
When she comes . . . .
She will take us to the portals,
When she comes . . . .
's The American Songbag in 1927, the song is believed to have been written during the late 1800s. The song was based on an old Negro spiritual titled "When the Chariot Comes", which is sung to the same melody. During the 19th century it spread through Appalachia
where the lyrics were changed into their current form. The song was later sung by railroad work gangs in the Midwestern United States
in the 1890s. The song's style is reminiscent of the call and response
structure of many folk songs of the time, where one person would shout the first line and others repeat.
(when she comes).
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes,
(when she comes).
She'll be coming 'round the mountain, she'll be coming 'round the mountain,
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes,
(when she comes).
The same structure is repeated with the following verses:
She'll be drivin' six white horses when she comes, etc.
Oh we'll all come out to meet her when she comes, etc.
She'll be wearing pink pajamas when she comes, etc.
We will kill the old red rooster when she comes, etc.
We'll be havin' chicken and dumplings when she comes, etc.
She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes, etc.
We'll all be shoutin' "Halleluja" when she comes, etc.
She'll be comin' down a road that's five miles long, etc.
camps.
Currently the song is usually sung in collections of children's music with slightly different lyrics. The song has been recorded by musicians ranging from Pete Seeger
to Barney the Dinosaur
.
Harking back to the original lyrics of "When the Chariot Comes", the song is sometimes referenced in relation to the end of the world
, most notably in The Illuminatus! Trilogy
and the comic book Promethea
.
At least three soccer chants are sung to the tune of this song:
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
often categorized as children's music
Children's music
Children's music is used here to refer to music composed and performed for children by adults. In European influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has historically held both entertainment...
. It is a derivation of a Negro spiritual known as "When the Chariot Comes".
Old African American spiritual
The song refers to the Second Coming of Christ and subsequent RaptureRapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
. The she refers to the chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
the returning Christ is imagined as driving.
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
O, who will drive the chariot,
O, who will drive the chariot,
O, who will drive the chariot
When she comes?
King Jesus, he'll be driver when she comes,
When she comes . . . .
She'll be loaded with bright Angels
When she comes . . . .
She will neither rock nor totter,
When she comes . . . .
She will run so level and steady,
When she comes . . . .
She will take us to the portals,
When she comes . . . .
Children's song
Although the first printed version of the song appeared in Carl SandburgCarl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
's The American Songbag in 1927, the song is believed to have been written during the late 1800s. The song was based on an old Negro spiritual titled "When the Chariot Comes", which is sung to the same melody. During the 19th century it spread through Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
where the lyrics were changed into their current form. The song was later sung by railroad work gangs in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
in the 1890s. The song's style is reminiscent of the call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
structure of many folk songs of the time, where one person would shout the first line and others repeat.
Lyrics
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes,(when she comes).
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes,
(when she comes).
She'll be coming 'round the mountain, she'll be coming 'round the mountain,
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes,
(when she comes).
The same structure is repeated with the following verses:
She'll be drivin' six white horses when she comes, etc.
Oh we'll all come out to meet her when she comes, etc.
She'll be wearing pink pajamas when she comes, etc.
We will kill the old red rooster when she comes, etc.
We'll be havin' chicken and dumplings when she comes, etc.
She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes, etc.
We'll all be shoutin' "Halleluja" when she comes, etc.
She'll be comin' down a road that's five miles long, etc.
Interpretation
Carl Sandburg, in The American Songbag, suggests that "she" refers to union organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones going to promote formation of labor unions in the Appalachian coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
camps.
Currently the song is usually sung in collections of children's music with slightly different lyrics. The song has been recorded by musicians ranging from Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
to Barney the Dinosaur
Barney & Friends
Barney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...
.
Harking back to the original lyrics of "When the Chariot Comes", the song is sometimes referenced in relation to the end of the world
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
, most notably in The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...
and the comic book Promethea
Promethea
Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....
.
Variations
- In the UK, especially with the elderly, it is common for the lyrics "She'll be wearing pink pyjamas when she comes" and "Singing ey, ey, yippee, yippee, ey. Singing ey, ey, yippee, yippee, ey. Singing ey, ey, yippee, yippee ey, ey, yippee, ey, ey, yippee, yippee, ey." to be sung.
- Often, the verse "We will kill the old red rooster when she comes" is omitted, and "chicken and dumplings" is replaced with "cake and ice cream".
At least three soccer chants are sung to the tune of this song:
- English fans chant "Ten German BombersTen German BombersTen German Bombers was originally a song sung by English school children during World War II. It uses the same tune as 'She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain' though its verse and chorus follow the format of the song 'Ten Green Bottles' however since 2000 has been a song commonly sung by football...
" when their team is playing Germany. - JibjabJibJabJibJab is a digital entertainment studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it was noticed during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" became a hit. The company creates,...
created a satireSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
about George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's re-election called "Second Term" to the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain".
- The American death metal band MacabreMacabre (band)Macabre is an extreme metal band from Illinois. They were formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, and have never had a line-up change. They blend thrash metal, death metal, and grindcore to form their own unique style dubbed murder metal...
used the melody on the song "Coming to Chicago" on their album DahmerDahmer (album)Dahmer is a concept album by American grindcore/death metal band Macabre about Jeffrey Dahmer released in 2000. The songs comprise a biography of the life of Jeffrey Dahmer; therefore they are in chronological order.-Track listing:# "Dog Guts" – 3:15...
themed on the life of Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
.
- Bender of FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
sang his own variation in "The Series Has Landed" ("Oh, she'll shoot him with her ray gun when she comes")
- A Scottish children's song to this tune features the lyrics:
- Oh ye cannae shove yer granny off a bus
- No ye cannae shove yer granny off a bus
- No ye cannae shove yer granny, 'cause she's yer mammy's mammy,
- Ye cannae shove yer granny off a bus!
- Ye can shove yer other granny off a bus
- Oh ye can shove yer other granny off a bus
- Oh ye can shove yer other granny, 'cause she's yer daddy's mammy,
- Ye can shove yer other granny off a bus!
- The German song "Tante aus Marokko" and the Dutch song "Tante uit Marokko" share the same melody and some elements from the text.
- In Wizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly PlaceWizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
episode "Monster Hunter", Harper Finkle creates a "spell song" for Alex RussoAlex RussoAlexandra Margarita "Alex" Russo is the main protagonist of the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, portrayed by Selena Gomez. As the middle child and only daughter, she is sly, outgoing, and sometimes rude to her family and friends. Alex usually underachieves when it comes to school...
to remember the spells - Indonesian singer, "Didi Kempot" uses the melody (with slight alteration) in his song titled "Cucakrowo"
- The song is part of the Songs of the Sea SoundtrackSongs of the Sea SoundtrackThis article is about Song of the Sea`s soundtrack. For the attraction, see Songs of the Sea.The award-winning Songs of the Sea Soundtrack recorded in 2006 features popular songs like It`s Me and You`re Not in This On Your Own.-Soundtrack:...
abstracted from the SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
attraction Songs of the SeaSongs of the SeaThis article is about the Sentosa attraction. For the attraction`s soundtrack, see Songs of the Sea Soundtrack.Songs of the Sea is a multimedia show located at Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Designed by ECA2 founder, Yves Pépin, Songs of the Sea started its operations on 26 March 2007....
in SentosaSentosaSentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
.
Sources
- William E. Barton, Old Plantation Hymns: A Collection of Hitherto Unpublished Melodies of the Slave and the Freeman with Historical and Descriptive Notes (1899).
- Sandburg, C., The American Songbag. 1st Ed. Harcourt Brace, NY, 1927.
- Studwell, William E. Lest we forget: a chronological historical survey of some of the most notable songs of the first half of the 20th century. Bloomington, Indiana: Many Musician Memories, 2001. Print.