Swing Low makes me feel good, says England skipper

THE England rugby captain has defended fans who sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – after an academic accused them of being in denial over the song’s links to slavery.

Dylan Hartley said the chant was more about the ‘noise’ and atmosphere generated at the Twickenham ground than any historical connections.

The 30-year-old insisted that he had always associated the song with his sport.

‘I don’t know the history. To me Swing Low is the England rugby song,’ said the hooker, who leads England into today’s Calcutta Cup clash.

‘I’ve known it like that as a kid, growing up in New Zealand.

From yesterday’s Mail Should I know the history? To us it’s the noise, the sheer atmosphere it generates and the feel good factor it gives Twickenham.’

Home supporters are set to proudly belt out the tune today as England face Scotland in the Six Nations. However a row over the song’s origins has been rumbling since earlier this week.

Josephine Wright, a professor of music and black studies at the College of Wooster in Ohio, accused England fans of showing a ‘total lack of understanding’ of the song’s origins as a 19th century slave chorus.

The American told the BBC: ‘I’m a descendant of US slaves, we have a family cemetery where my ancestors are buried, generations of them, slavery for us was our holocaust. And the music and songs are the only expression of the humanity that’s left to them.’

But she stopped short of calling England supporters ‘ holocaust deniers’, adding: ‘I’m not saying that. Let’s put it this way, they are in denial that England had complicity in the trans-Atlantic slave trade that brought over 12.8million Africans into the new world.’

The song is understood to have been first adopted by Eng- land’s fans at a Five Nations match against Ireland at Twickenham in 1988.

The Rugby Football Union, which references Swing Low’s lyrics by using the hashtag #CarryThemHome on social media, has also defended the singing of the song at England games.

A spokesman said: ‘Swing Low has been associated with rugby and rugby clubs for decades. It is sung by fans to get behind the rugby team.’