Amazing Grace

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"Amazing Grace"
Music by William Walker
Words by John Newton
Published	1772
Language	English

"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn. The words were written late in 1772 by Englishman John Newton. They first appeared in print in Newton's Olney Hymns (1779), which he worked on with William Cowper.

Contents 1 History 2 Extra verses 3 Alternate versions 4 Cherokee lyrics 5 Bagpipes 6 Artists who have recorded the song 7 Movie 8 Awards 8.1 Grammy Hall of Fame 9 References 10 External links 11 Audio samples

[edit] History

John Newton wrote this hymn some time after converting to Christianity in the village of Kineton, in Warwickshire, England. The lyrics are based on his reflections on an Old Testament text he was preparing to preach on, adding his perspective about his own conversion while on his slave ship, the Greyhound, in 1748.

The melody most often used for this hymn was not original (nor was Newton a composer). As with other hymns of this period, the words were sung to a number of tunes before and after they first became linked to the now familiar variant of the tune "New Britain" of which the composer is unknown and is in William Walker's shape-note tunebook Southern Harmony, 1835. ^[1]

There are several tunes to which these words have been sung. "New Britain" first appears in a shape note hymnal from 1829 called Columbian Harmony. The melody is believed to be Scottish or Irish in origin; it is pentatonic and suggests a bagpipe tune; the hymn is frequently performed on bagpipes and has become associated with that instrument. This tune seems to have been firmly established as the 'standard' for this hymn after an arrangement of it appeared in a series of popular hymnbooks in the early twentieth century. (See also the versions in the Sacred Harp article.)

Another tune to which it has sometimes been sung is the so-called "Old Regular Baptist" tune. It was sung by the Congregation of the Little Zion Church, Jeff, Kentucky, on the album The Ritchie Family of Kentucky on the Folkways label (1958).

Newton's lyrics have become a favorite for Christians, largely because the hymn vividly and briefly sums up the doctrine of divine grace. The lyrics are based on I Chronicles 17:16-17, a prayer of King David in which he marvels at God's choosing him and his house. Newton apparently wrote this for use in a sermon he preached on this passage on New Year's Day 1773, and for which he left his sermon notes, which correspond to the flow of the lyrics^[2]. (He entitled the piece "Faith's review and expectation.")

The song has also become known as a favorite with supporters of freedom and human rights, both Christian and non-Christian, in part because many assume it to be his testimony about his slave trading past. The song has been sung by many notable musical performers, including iconic folk singer Judy Collins.

The hymn was quite popular on both sides in the American Civil War. While on the "trail of tears," the Cherokee were not always able to give their dead a full burial. Instead, the singing of "Amazing Grace" had to suffice. Since then, "Amazing Grace" is often considered like a Cherokee National Anthem^[3]. For this reason, many contemporary Native American musicians have recorded the song.

In recent years, this song has also become popular in America with drug and alcohol recovery groups, particularly Christian ones, at celebrations of how they "once were lost, but now are found."

[edit] Extra verses

In her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe includes an extra, final verse which may have been taken from another hymn. The additional verse is part of most hymnals today.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.

Whereas the original lyrics were penned by John Newton in 1772 (stanzas 1-6), this additional verse (stanza 7) was written in the nineteenth century, and is credited by some to John P. Rees (1828-1900)^[4]. This verse became firmly established as part of the hymn by its addition in popular hymnbooks of the early twentieth century.

[edit] Alternate versions

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Some modern hymnals change the second line, "that saved a wretch like me" to "that saved and set me free". Another suggestion for this line, perhaps a bit more personal, but avoiding the word "wretch" is "that saved one such as me".

For the 2007 movie Amazing Grace [1], verses by Chris Tomlin [2] were added to the original lyrics, and the song was converted into 4/4 time. The last two verses are attributed to John Newton in 101 Hymn Stories by K.W. Osbeck written in 1979.^{[citation needed]}

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

In 2004, Christian artist Todd Agnew released the song Grace Like Rain,[[3]] a rock version of Amazing Grace with an added chorus which has since become widely popular in the CCM community.

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, and all my stains are washed away
They're washed away

[edit] Cherokee lyrics

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The Cherokees sang this version of the song as they were forced to walk along the Trail of Tears. It had been previously translated by Samuel Worcester. Some say it has become the Cherokee National Anthem^{[citation needed]}, but Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller chose Cherokee/Quapaw tribal member Louis Ballard to write the actual Cherokee National Anthem. Ballard is a renowned Native American composer whose credits also include the song "Incident At Wounded Knee."

The translation is not a word-by-word translation but rather a translation of the original meaning of John Newton's lyrics into the Cherokee language so that it may fit the tune. In Cherokee it says: "God sent his only son" and "One day in Heaven we will be."

[edit] Bagpipes

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The association with bagpipes is relatively modern; for over a century, the tune was nearly forgotten in the British Isles until the folk revival of the 1960s began carrying traditional musicians back and forth between the British Isles and the United States (where "Amazing Grace" had remained a very popular hymn). It was little known outside church congregations or folk festivals until Arthur Penn's film Alice's Restaurant (1969), in which Lee Hays of The Weavers leads worshipers in singing "Amazing Grace."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Artists who have recorded the song

Owing to its ability to be adapted easily, the song is a popular recording choice. In essence, it has a very basic tune. Singers can then very easily add melismatic phrases, and alter the melody to make it match their own style/genre of singing.

The hymn has been recorded by many artists over the last century; All Music Guide lists over 1800 recordings.^[5] Two versions have made the UK Singles Chart: Between 1970 and 1972, a version by Judy Collins spent 67 weeks in the charts, a record for a female artist, and peaked at number five. In 1972, an instrumental version by the Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards spent five weeks at number one, it also reaching the top spot in Australia. It has also been used in cultures beyond its Western origin: award winning Native American flautist Jay Red Eagle has recorded it. In Asia, Cantopop singer Joey Yung borrowed the tune for a version named "Tomorrow's Grace". Christian metal pioneers Stryper also recorded a version of this song titled 10,000 Years on their 2005 comeback album Reborn. The Christian alternative rock band The Almost recorded a version entitled "Amazing Because It Is" on their album Southern Weather. Chris Tomlin, a famous Christian artist who has written popular Christian songs like Holy Is The Lord, How Great is Our God, and Indescribable, also edited it when asked by Michael Apted, the director of Amazing Grace which was released in 2006. He was add a part to the song and wrote a refrain "My chains are gone, I've been set free", based on John Newton's sermon.^[6] He featured the song in Music Inspired By the Motion Picture Amazing Grace and his See The Morning cd.

Blind Boys Of Alabama recorded this song on "Spirit of the Century"

Aretha Franklin recorded a notable version of the song nearly fifteen minutes in length on her live gospel album of the same name.

Johnny Cash recorded it in the album Sings Precious Memories.

Willie Nelson recorded it in his 1976 album The Sound in Your Mind.

Rod Stewart and The Faces performed it live in their 1972-73 world tour.

Kylie Minogue an Australian singer performed this song as the final encore of her Let's Get To It Tour.

Galina Veliova a Bulgarian artist sang Amazing Grace 1985.

Dropkick Murphys recorded this song for their The Gang's All Here album.

Hayley Westenra a soprano singer from New Zealand recorded a shortened version for her 2003 debut album Pure, in addition to an Amazing Grace single released only in Japan.

Diamanda Galás recorded it in her "Vena Cava" album. Like all other tracks, it's not listed.

Flatfoot 56 A Christian Punk/Celtic Punk band, recorded amazing grace on their cd titled Knuckles Up.

Darius Rucker lead singer for Hootie & the Blowfish recorded this song on his solo project Back To Then.

S.K.Y., a trance group recorded Amazing Grace for the compilation S.K.Y. Presents Christmas Trance.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band included a short instrumental interpretation of this song on their 2004 album Funeral For a Friend.

Banda De Gaitas Del Batallón De San Patricio included it in their album Go-Bragh (Por Siempre)

Phish has performed the song several times live, typically acapella

Victor Wooten performs the song on his electric bass, noted for tuning his bass to the final pitches instead of playing them on the fretboard.

Chris Squire recorded a version on his bass guitar, and can be heard on the expanded version of the Yes album "Going for the One"

Yes performed the song live at almost every concert of the 90125, Big Generator and Union tours, with Jon Anderson singing the first two verses, usually with Chris Squire playing the backing melody on bass. A version can be heard on 9012Live - The Solos.

Ani DiFranco often performs the song live, and she includes it on many of her albums including Dilate and Living in Clip

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have re-recorded it on there Spirit Of The Glen (2007) CD, this CD was recorded between tours of duty in Iraq. It is believed the pipes & drums played Amazing Grace as they entered Basra in 2003.

Sufjan Stevens recorded a version on Disc 1: Noel [2001] Vol. 1 of his 2006 box set, "Songs for Christmas."

Yann-Fañch Kemener recoreded a version on Disc The Great Celtics Airs in 2000.

[edit] Movie

Amazing Grace is a film that follows the life of anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce fought for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire for about 20 years. The movie received positive reviews.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Grammy Hall of Fame

A recording of "Amazing Grace" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."

Amazing Grace: Grammy Hall of Fame[7]
Year Recorded	Artist	Genre	Label	Year Inducted
1946	The Dixie Hummingbirds	Gospel (Single)	Apollo	2000

The song Amazing Grace was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.

[edit] References

• "Bury the chains: The British Struggle to Abolish Slavery", Hochschild, Adam, 2005
• "Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song", Turner, Steve, 2002.

[edit] External links

• Amazing Grace: The Story of John Newton
• Amazing Grace and other Gospel Lyrics
• Amazing Grace Original Lyrics
• Amazing Grace myths at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
• Amazing Grace (movie) The story behind the song.
• Art of the States: Amazing Grace variations on the hymn by composer John Harbison

The following sites relate to the 2007 film 'Amazing Grace' about William Wilberforce and the campaign against the Slave Trade:

• Amazing Grace official US website
• Amazing Grace official UK website

[edit] Audio samples

• Amazing Grace and other Hymns from 1886 hymnal, played for any browser exactly as written

Preceded by "Without You" by Nilsson

UK number one single (Royal Scots Dragoon Guards version) April 11 1972

Succeeded by "Metal Guru" by T Rex

Amazing grace

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from the Library of Congress' John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip; performed by Mr. and Mrs. N.V. Braley on 5 May 1939 at the home of Beal D. Taylor near Medina, Texas

Amazing grace

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Amazing grace

Image:Amazing Grace-organ.ogg

Performed on an Organ

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