This may be old news, or obvious in the English cultural context, but I only now noticed there are many parallels between Come Together and the gospel hymn Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. To wit:
Refrain
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?
Coming for to carry me home,
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
If you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I’m coming, too.
Coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
I’m sometimes up and sometimes down,
Coming for to carry me home,
But still my soul feels heavenly bound,
Coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
The brightest day that I can say,
Coming for to carry me home,
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Coming for to carry me home.
Refrain
and rough transcriptions of Come Together:
Little child look to the sky
a long white/wedding dress and a black mariah
Some wild idea and I head back home
swing low, sweet Jesus
Come carry me
Carry me home
Swing low, carry me home
Come together, home
Come together, home
Carry on angel
No one can hold you down
Though your fins
Though your fins be scarlet
Come together, home
Come together, home
... follow... rising... fear... (unclear bit)
Though your fins
Though your fins be scarlet
Come together, home
Come together, home
The "look to the sky" and Jesus bits certainly seem to make more sense in this context... though I'm not entirely sure what the context is. The hymn, which on a surface level deals with the ascension of the prophet Elijah, is apparently also interpreted as discussing slavery, and liberation either in the material world or in the next.
Then there's the groovy heavenly chariot and black mariah connection.
Regardless, this song KICKS ASS. The best Sisters tune. Has anyone figured out the complete lyrics yet? The hymn might give some clues.
