<P> These kinds of songs can be traced back to 17th - century British radical protestants and 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> Although the first printed version of the song appeared in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag in 1927, it is believed to have originated during the late 1800s, based on an old spiritual titled "When the Chariot Comes" sung to the same melody, which during the 19th century spread through Appalachia, where the lyrics were changed into their current form, which 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 imagined as driving . Like most spirituals originating in the African - American community, however, this was probably a coded anthem for the Underground Railroad . </P> <P> The secularized version was sung by railroad work gangs in the Midwestern United States in the 1890s . Currently the song is usually sung in collections of children's music . The song has been recorded by musicians ranging from Tommy Tucker Time (78'inch) to Pete Seeger or Barney the Dinosaur . </P>

Who is the song she'll be coming round the mountain about