Swing Low - Ty Ford © 2007
In this culture we don’t like the words “dead” or “death.” We use “passed away”, “crossed over”, “no longer with us”, “on boot hill”, “taking a dirt nap”; anything to avoid “dead” and “death.” So, bucking the trend at full throttle, I felt the need to anthropomorphize “death.” But not without an escape hatch. The minor key verses dealing with unpleasantness resolve in to the major key chorus that offers a glimmer of hope.
“Swing Low sweet chariot.
Take me past where the angels fear to tread.
Fly me somewhere over the rainbow.
Right down through the valley of the shadow of death.”
The chorus is still a little spooky for those who can’t extrapolate “the valley of the shadow of death” from the 23rd Psalm to include “I will fear no evil”, but making things overly explicit can wreck an otherwise good song.
As I slowly accumulate enough original material for a CD, my work on Swing Low is made lighter by the seemingly effortless abilities of those more talented than myself.
Thanks to Seth Kibel (clarinet), Ken Gutberlet (mandolin), Carey Ziegler (bass), Laura Cerulli (drums), Karyn Oliver, Claudia SanSoucie and Randall Williams (background vocalists) for making something really special out of something ordinary.
Some who have already heard Swing Low hear Leonard Cohen. Others mention Johnny Cash. If I’m even close to a low-cal version of either, I’m pleased with that.
Thanks to my mother, father and stepfather, who were the inspiration for this song. They are dead, but we still communicate regularly, although across a greater distance.
Swing Low
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
