Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Guitar Chords
Key of G 4/4 76 BPM 3 chords: G C D Beginner
The 3 chords of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is a slow, warm song that fits three chords, G, C and D, and it is built like a call and response: a line that moves, then "coming for to carry me home" as the answer. That repeated answer makes it easy to learn and lovely to sing in a group. This page gives you the chorus and two verses with every chord over its word, and the eight-bar progression shared by the chorus and the verses. Take it slowly, around 76 beats per minute, and let each strum ring. The quick C to G change inside the bar is the only part that needs practice.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: African American spiritual, attributed to Wallace Willis (before 1862).
How to strum Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
The song is in 4/4: 4 beats in every bar. Count them aloud, and strum down on the numbers and up on the "and".
Easy
Full
Slow, four beats per bar: down, down, down-up, down. Or one down strum per beat for a hymn-like feel.
Tips for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot on guitar
The chords
G, C and D, all open chords. The chorus and the verses use exactly the same progression.
The tricky part
Bar 2 has two chords: C on beat one, G on beat three, under "chari-ot". Practise C to G and back until you can switch without stopping the strum.
Change the key
To sing higher, keep the same shapes and put a capo on fret 2, which raises the song a whole step, or on fret 4 for two whole steps. The chords on this page and the guitar above stay the same; only the pitch changes.
The story of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is an African American spiritual, attributed to Wallace Willis, a Choctaw freedman in what is now Oklahoma, before 1862. The Fisk Jubilee Singers brought it to audiences in America and Europe in the 1870s, and it was first recorded in 1909.
The chariot of the song comes from the Bible story of the prophet Elijah taken up to heaven. The song is also, unexpectedly, the anthem of English rugby fans.
Source: Traditional African American spiritual (before 1862), public domain; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What are the chords for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?
In G: G, then C and G in the next bar, G, D; then G, C and G, G and D, G. Three open chords in all.
Who wrote Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?
It is a spiritual attributed to Wallace Willis, a freedman in the Choctaw Nation, before 1862. The Fisk Jubilee Singers made it famous in the 1870s.
What strumming pattern fits Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?
A slow four-beat pattern: down, down, down-up, down. Keep it gentle: the song is a lullaby-like hymn, not a march.
Record your own Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
The guitar on this page is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the rest of the band in the browser - drum machines, a bass, a sampled piano and a sequencer - to record your own version of the song, with a 7-day free trial, no card required.