The first appearance of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" in print was in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag in 1927. Sandburg reports that the negro spiritual “When the Chariot Comes", which was sung to the same melody, was adapted by railroad workers in the Midwestern United States during the 1890s. It is often heard today with responses that add on to the previous verse. The original song was published in Old Plantation Hymns in 1899. It ostensibly refers to the Second Coming of Christ and subsequent Rapture, with the she referring to the chariot that the returning Christ is depicted as driving. Typically, she would refer to the church itself, not a chariot since nowhere in the Bible is Christ on a chariot. Like many spirituals that originated in the African-American community, this was probably a coded anthem for the Underground Railroad. The secularized version that developed among railroad work gangs in the late 19th century has become a standard over the years, appearing in printed collections of children's music while also being performed by both children and adults in sing-alongs, particularly as a campfire song. Since the mid-1920s, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" has been recorded by numerous musicians, ranging from Tommy Tucker and Bing Crosby to Pete Seeger and Neil Young.
In the Reader's Digest Children's Songbook, published in 1985, the song is adapted with new words by Dan Fox and his son, Paul. The lyrics tell of the things "she" will do in increasing number up to ten, for example, "She'll be ridin' on a camel", "She'll be tuggin' on two turtles”, and "She'll be carvin' three thick thistles”.
On the album , the song is referenced by Danny Offia & The Friks in their song Funk With Me
The digital entertainment studio JibJab created a satire about George W. Bush's re-election, called "Second Term" using the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain".
Neil Young & Crazy Horse recorded "Jesus' Chariot", a version of "When the Chariot Comes", on their 2012 album Americana.
The German song "Von den blauen Bergen kommen wir" shares the same melody, as does the song "Tante aus Marokko" and its Dutch equivalent, "Tante uit Marokko". These last two songs use similar themes from the original but personify the main character more literally as a woman riding on a camel with pistols.
A similar song is found in Norway : "Du skal få min gamle sykkel når jeg dør." The verses list all the "old" things that "you" can have "when/if I die". The "things" range from the lightly humorous to the scatological to the somewhat pornographic, with many also playing on religion.
"There's a Skeeter on My Peter" is a dirty parody.
Animation
The Peanuts cast performed the song in the 1977 filmRace for Your Life, Charlie Brown. It was performed by The Winans in This is America, Charlie Brown in its episode titled "Building of the Transcontinental Railroad".
In the 1941 short animated filmTimber, Donald Duck sings the song during both the opening and the closing scenes.
Mrs. Frizzle and Carlos sing the song while the class is travelling through Arnold Matthew's intestines in The Magic School Bus episode "For Lunch". In the later episode "Rocks and Rolls", which focuses on water erosion, she sings "We'll make changes in the mountain as we roll".
