Two Videos of The African American Spiritual "Low Down The Chariot Let Me Ride" (Also Known As "Slow Down Chariot. Let me Ride" Or "Take A Ride")

mountcalvarypb, Jan 1, 2009

The Mount Calvary Primitive Baptist Association 2008

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases two YouTube videos of Deacon Jessie Phelps and members of Primitive Baptist congregations singing the African American Spiritual "Low Down Chariot Let Me Ride". This Spiritual is also known as "Slow Down Chariot Let Me Ride", or "Take A Ride".

This Spiritual isn't the same as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" [Coming For To Carry Me Home].

Information about the Primitive Baptist denomination is included in this post along with lyrics for a rendition of "Low Dow The Chariot Let Me Ride".

The content of this post is presented for religious, socio-cultural, and historical purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composers of this Spiritual. Thanks to the religious and musical legacies of  Deacon Jessie Phelps and all other who are shown in these videos. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/old-school-african-american-gospel-song.html for the closely related 2020 pancocojams post "Old School African American Gospel Song "Take A Ride" (with "You Betta Sang!" & similar "sang" comments)".

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2- Deacon Jessie Phelps Low Down The Chariot Let Me Ride



KATHY PHELPS, Oct 21, 2010

Union Primitive Baptist Association of GA 2010

Mt. Mary Primitive Baptist Church, Leary, GA

Co hosted by Mt. Mary Primitive Baptist Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST (A CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_Baptists
"Primitive Baptists – also known as Regular Baptists, Old School Baptists, Foot Washing Baptists, or, derisively, Hard Shell Baptists[2] – are conservative Baptists adhering to a degree of Calvinist beliefs who coalesced out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 19th century over the appropriateness of mission boards, tract societies, and temperance societies.[3][4] Primitive Baptists are a subset of the Calvinistic Baptist tradition.[1] The adjective "primitive" in the name is used in the sense of "original".[3]

[...]

The official split between "Old School" and "New School" Baptists occurred during a meeting at the Black Rock Church on September 28, 1832 in Butler, MD. This became known as the Black Rock Address.[7][8][9]

Primitive Baptist churches arose in the mountainous regions of the American South, where they are found in their greatest numbers.[10][11]

African-American Primitive Baptist groups have been considered a unique category of Primitive Baptist. Approximately 50,000 African Americans are affiliated with African-American Primitive Baptist churches as of 2005.[12] Approximately 64,000 people were affiliated (as of 1995) with Primitive Baptist churches in the various other emergences of Primitive Baptists.[12]

Since arising in the 19th century, the influence of Primitive Baptists has waned as "Missionary Baptists became the mainstream".[5]

[...]

Distinct practices

Primitive Baptist practices that are distinguishable from those of other Baptists include a cappella singing, family integrated worship, and foot washing.

A cappella singing

Primitive Baptists generally do not play musical instruments as part of their worship services.[16] They believe that all church music should be a cappella because there is no New Testament command to play instruments, but only to sing.[15] Further, they connect musical instruments in the Old Testament with "many forms and customs, many types and shadows, many priests with priestly robes, many sacrifices, festivals, tithings" that they see as having been abolished; "had they been needed in the church Christ would have brought them over".[15]

African-American Primitive Baptists may not share the general Primitive Baptist opposition to musical instruments, however.[17]"...

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LYRICS FOR A RENDITION OF "LOW DOWN CHARIOT LET ME RIDE"/"SLOW DOWN CHARIOT LET ME RIDE"* 
(unknown composers)

I wanna take a ride
Ride [word elongated]
I wanna take a ride
Ride [word elongated]
I'm singing oh angels
Oh [word elongated] angels
Slow down
Slow down your chariot
And let me ride

I wanna see king Jesus
Jesus [word elongated]
I wanna see king Jesus
Jesus[word elongated]
I'm singing oh angels
Slow down your chariot
Let me ride

I wanna go home
Home [word elongated]
I wanna go home
Home [word elongated]

I'm crying oh angels
oh [word elongated angels
Slow down your chariot
oh [word elongated] angels
And let me ride

[Vamp]

Let me ride
Let me ride
Let me ride
Oh [word elongated] angels
Oh [word elongated] angels
Oh [word elongated] angels
Slow down your chariot
Slow down your chariot
Slow down your chariot

[Repeat vamp]
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* There are multiple versions of lyrics for this Spiritual. This is my transcription of a video of an African American singing group's (Chevela and The Spiritual Voices) rendition of this song. This transcription is largely based on the comment posted by QUE MAC, 2019 in the discussion thread for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqd1KAOzTgI lyric [Example #1 of "Take A Ride", given in Part I of the two part pancocojams series.

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/examples-of-spiritual-swing-low-sweet.html

The words that are given in italics are singing directions.

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"Slow down chariot"  means "Lessen the speed of the chariot". 

This title may also be found as  "Low Down Chariot" which means "Lower the chariot [nearer the ground" [so someone more easily enter it.]

The more commonly known Spiritual "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" means the same thing. I don't know whether "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" was composed before "Slow Down" or "Low Down Sweet Chariot".I also don't know which of those two titles were composed first.

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