She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain…

I was thinking of writing a piece on the creatures migrating down the mountains as the season is changing, and that song “She’ll be coming round the mountain” came to mind but instead of “round,” I was thinking of the word “down” instead. So I looked up the song, and this is what I found…

This song is considered an American folk song that is categorized as children’s music. The song is actually derived from a Negro spiritual song called “When the Chariot Comes.” This version refers to the second coming of Christ. The “she” in the song is the chariot. The song:

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 . . . .

The children’s version of the song:

She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes…
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain 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…
Other verses repeated just like above ares:
She’ll be drivin’ six white horses when she comes…
Oh we’ll all come out to meet her when she comes…
She’ll be wearing pink pajamas when she comes…
We will kill the old red rooster when she comes…
We’ll be havin’ chicken and dumplings when she comes…
She will have to sleep with Grandma when she comes…
We’ll all be shoutin’ “Halleluja” when she comes…
She’ll be comin’ down a road that’s five miles long…

The Scottish version of the song is pretty good:

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!

Had to save the best for last…You might remember that JibJab.com did a satire on this song regarding George W. Bush’s run for re-election. They called it “The Second Term.” Here is the link in case you missed it:
http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/second_term

Now I need to apologize because you will probably have this song running through your head all day!

Joe – whimsy?