Lyrics
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, when she comes, She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, when she comes, She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, She’ll be comin’ round the mountain, when she comes. She’ll be drivin’ six white horses, when she comes, She’ll be drivin’ six white horses, when she comes, She’ll be drivin’ six white horses, She’ll be drivin’ six white horses, She’ll be drivin’ six white horses, when she comes. Oh we’ll all go to meet her, when she comes, Oh we’ll all go to meet her, when she comes, We will kill the old red rooster, We will kill the old red rooster, And we’ll all have chicken and dumplin’, when she comes.
#She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Sung in
- English
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- 1924 recording; 1927 print, with an 1899 spiritual precursor
- Best for ages
- 3–8
- Mood
- playful, dancing, traditional
- Last updated
- 27 August 2026
How to sing it
- Begin slowly so everyone can hear the repeated words and the action cue.
- Circle one arm for the mountain, pretend to hold reins for the horses, and wave while going out to meet her.
- Repeat the song once and invite a different child to lead the cues.
Meaning and origin
Every stanza uses the same musical frame to announce another part of an arrival: coming around the mountain, driving six white horses and being met by the waiting group. Most of each line is repeated before the short “when she comes” answer, so singers can learn the pattern quickly and add gestures without losing their place.
The familiar folk song was recorded in 1924 and printed by Carl Sandburg in The American Songbag in 1927. Sandburg’s headnote says that an old spiritual, “When the Chariot Comes”, was made by mountaineers into “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” and that the song spread to railroad work gangs in the Midwest in the 1890s; the spiritual itself was printed in 1899. The three stanzas on this page are Sandburg’s, in his wording: the third moves from going to meet her to killing the old red rooster and eating chicken and dumplings when she comes.
The repetition supports a simple group performance. Circle an arm for the mountain, hold imaginary reins for the six horses and wave while going out to meet the traveller. A leader can choose the next action and the group can echo it, showing how the stable refrain makes room for new verses while the song remains recognizable.
Common questions
- Where did She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain come from?
- The familiar folk song was recorded in 1924 and printed by Carl Sandburg in 1927. Its melodic and refrain pattern is connected to the African American spiritual “When the Chariot Comes,” printed in 1899.
- Is every displayed stanza printed in Carl Sandburg’s 1927 version?
- Yes. All three stanzas follow Carl Sandburg’s The American Songbag (1927), including the third, in which everyone goes to meet her, the old red rooster is killed and there is chicken and dumplings when she comes. Sandburg prints the spiritual “When the Chariot Comes” beside it.
