Monday Morning Video Welcome: Alvin and the Chipmunks Sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

Good morning! What, you didn't know your favorite high-pitched singing rodent trio performed classic Negro spirituals?

Well, they did. I came across this by accident, and the tune is now stuck in my head. As a service to Inside Voice readers, I'm going to lodge this tune in your heads, as well.

You're welcome. As for the background behind this clip, it's from The Alvin Show, which ran for a single year (1961-1962). I'd like to think that the show it ended because Simon and Theodore complained about not getting any billing at all, and a compromise was made to lump them as "The Chipmunks."

Kind of weird, don't you think? I mean, Alvin is a chipmunk, too. It'd be like me starting a trio and naming it "Anthony and the Humans." But I digress.

These days, as far as I know, you'd probably get some, well, confused looks if you just started humming "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" on a crowded train, but back before the Civil Rights era was in full swing, I guess it wasn't a big deal. On the contrary, when I looked at the Wikipedia page for the song, I learned that it's apparently been covered several times in recent years, including UB40, who recorded it as the theme for England's 2003 rugby team, and on last year's debut by She & Him, a duo that's unofficially known, incidentally, as "Zooey [Deschanel] & Him."

I think the main reason most of us (or, possibly, just me) might be uncomfortable with the song is because our first connection with the tune was during this famous/notorious scene from Revenge of the Nerds:

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