<P> The song is derived from a Christian song known as "When the Chariot Comes". The song's style is reminiscent of the call and response structure of many folk songs; among them are songs with a similar verse - structure but variant melodies, such as If You're Happy and You Know It . </P> <P> These kinds of songs can be traced back to 17th - century, British radical Protestants . They later commonly appeared in ballads as well as some religious songs . Examples include "What Wondrous Love Is This", "Brave Benbow", "The Ballad of Captain Kidd", "Sam Hall", and "Ye Jacobites by Name". </P> <P> The first printed version of the song appeared in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag in 1927 . Sandburg reports that a negro spiritual "When the Chariot Comes", sung to the same melody, was adapted by railroad workers in the 1890s in the Midwest . It is often heard today with responses that add on to the previous verse . </P> <P> The song ostensibly refers to the Second Coming of Christ and subsequent Rapture, with the she referring to the chariot that the returning Christ is pictured as driving . Like many spirituals originating in the African - American community, this was probably a coded anthem for the Underground Railroad . </P>

Who sings she'll be comin round the mountain