{"id":288954,"date":"2023-09-17T07:20:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T07:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=288954"},"modified":"2023-09-17T07:20:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T07:20:26","slug":"reason-people-want-iconic-england-rugby-song-swing-low-sweet-chariot-banned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/reason-people-want-iconic-england-rugby-song-swing-low-sweet-chariot-banned\/","title":{"rendered":"Reason people want iconic England rugby song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot banned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby World Cup: Borthwick gets hands on in England training drill<\/h3>\n

England fans\u2019 use of the anthem Swing Low, Sweet Chariot has once again come into question ahead of their\u00a0Rugby World Cup\u00a0campaign.\u00a0The song\u2019s link to slavery has split opinion over whether it should continue to be used, despite the Rugby Football Union concluding following a 2020 review that it is okay to sing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the history of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is understood that the song dates back to 1865, when a slave called Wallace Willis may have been inspired by the Red River and of the Prophet Elijah\u2019s tale of being taken to heaven by a chariot.<\/p>\n

The earliest known recording of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was in 1909 by students from Fisk University \u2013 known as The Fisk Jubilee Singers. They made the song a well-known number with a tour across the US and Europe.<\/p>\n

It then had a revival in the 1960s when folk artist and activist Joan Baez sang it during the iconic Woodstock festival of 1969.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Rugby World Cup chaos with beer and water shortages in sweltering 37 degree heat[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why do people want Swing Low, Sweet Chariot banned?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are wide-ranging theories about what the song actually means, but many connect the song to slavery which is why the song\u2019s use at rugby is deemed controversial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2017, the New York Times described the song as one of the \u201ccherished 19th-century African-American spirituals, its forlorn lyrics invoking the darkness of slavery and the sustained oppression of a race\u201d.<\/p>\n

Josephine Wright, a professor of music and black studies at the College of Wooster in Ohio, said the lyrics of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot allude to feelings of “despair” and a “desire for release from suffering”. In the 1800s, it was often used as a funeral song.<\/p>\n

England rugby star Maro Itoje refuses to sing the anthem. \u201cI\u2019m not going to tell people what they should or shouldn\u2019t do but, personally, I won\u2019t sing this song again,\u201d he told L\u2019Equipe in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sang it before when I was naive and didn\u2019t know its origins but, now knowing the context in the creation of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, it\u2019s not an anthem that I\u2019m going to repeat any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

When was it first sung at rugby?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The song is thought to have been sung at rugby clubs since the 1960s. However, the World Rugby Museum revealed footage of Twickenham giving it a rendition at the 1987 Middlesex Sevens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is believed that the song was sung in honour of Martin Offiah. The record try-scorer was nicknamed Chariots in a play on words from the film Chariots of Fire.<\/p>\n

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot lyrics:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Swing low, sweet chariot<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home<\/p>\n

Swing low, sweet chariot<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home (x2)<\/p>\n

I looked over Jordan and what did I see<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home<\/p>\n

A band of angels coming after me<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home<\/p>\n

Swing low, sweet chariot<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home<\/p>\n

Swing low, sweet chariot<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me home<\/p>\n

If you get there before I do<\/p>\n

Coming for to carry me\u2026<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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