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Amazing Grace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Amazing Grace" is a well-known Christian hymn. The words were written late in 1772 by "Amazing Grace"
Englishman John Newton. They first appeared in print in Newton's Olney Hymns (1779), which he Music by William Walker
worked on with William Cowper. Words by John Newton
Language Irish melody, English words
Contents
1 History
1.1 Extra verses
1.2 Cherokee lyrics
2 Music
2.1 Bagpipes
3 Performances and recordings
4 Awards
5 References
6 See also
7 External links
8 Audio samples
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.
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 1 Chronicles 17:16-17
(http://php.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/~jnot4610/bibref.php?book=1%20Chronicles&verse=17:16-17&src=NRSV), "Amazing Grace"
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 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
sermon notes, which correspond to the flow of the lyrics[1]. (He entitled the piece "Faith's review and I once was lost, but now am found,
expectation.")
Was blind, but now I see.
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. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
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The hymn was quite popular on both sides in the American Civil War.
In recent years, this song has also become popular in America with drug and alcohol The hour I first believ’d!
recovery groups, particularly Christian ones, at celebrations of how they "once were lost, but
now are found." Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
Extra verses ’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
In her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe includes an extra, final verse which
The Lord has promis’d good to me,
may have been taken from another hymn:
His word my hope secures;
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, He will my shield and portion be,
Bright shining as the sun, As long as life endures.
We've no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun. Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
This additional verse is credited by some to John P. Rees (1828-1900)[2] and became firmly I shall possess, within the veil,
established as part of the hymn from the early twentienth century, appearing in many hymnal A life of joy and peace.
Music
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.[4]
"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.) Shape Note version from
1835.
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
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label (1958).
The Blind Boys of Alabama have also helped to popularise a long-standing association to the tune House of the Rising Sun.[5]
Bagpipes
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."
Between 1970 and 1972, a version by Judy Collins spent 67 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, a record for a female
artist, and peaked at number five.[7]
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 in the UK Singles Chart; it also reached the top spot in Australia. A piper plays "Amazing Grace"
on Memorial Day. "Amazing
Christian metal pioneers Stryper also recorded a version of this song titled 10,000 Years on their 2005 comeback Grace" is often played on
album Reborn. The Christian alternative rock band The Almost recorded a version entitled "Amazing Because It bagpipes and in services to honor
Is" on their album Southern Weather. the deceased.
The Italian one-man band Il Guardiano del Faro recorded an instrumental version in 1972, played on the Moog
synthesizer that was very trendy at the time. It was titled Il Gabbiano Infelice (The Unhappy Seagull).
Aretha Franklin recorded a notable version of the song nearly fifteen minutes in length on her live gospel album of the same name.
Rod Stewart and The Faces performed it live in their 1972-73 world tour.
The Australian singer Kylie Minogue performed this song as the final encore of her Let's Get To It Tour.
Dropkick Murphys recorded this song for their The Gang's All Here cd in 1999.
New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra recorded a shortened version for her 2003 debut album Pure.
Diamanda Galás recorded it in her "Vena Cava" album. Like all other tracks, it's not listed.
Todd Agnew released the song Grace Like Rain in 2004, a rock version of Amazing Grace with an added chorus.
Chris Tomlin recorded a version of the song on his 2006 album "See The Morning" that includes a different chorus and only some of the original
verses.
Darius Rucker lead singer for Hootie & the Blowfish recorded this song on his solo project Back To Then.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band included a short instrumental interpretation of this song on their 2004 album Funeral For a Friend.
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", and the box set
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"Yesyears"
Ani DiFranco often performs the song live, and she includes it on many of her albums including Dilate and Living in Clip
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have re-recorded it on their Spirit Of The Glen (2007) CD, 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."
Awards
Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 2007.[8]
References
1. ^ The John Newton Project has posted online the sermon notes that Newton wrote to go along with the hymn: "Amazing Grace: The Sermon Notes". Transcribed from
Princeton University Library, John Newton Diary, CO199 © Marylynn Rouse (2000) website url: http://www.johnnewton.org/Group/Group.aspx?id=32665 (Accessed
April 10, 2007)
2. ^ Catholic Book of Worship III. Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ottawa, Canada. (1986)
3. ^ Duvall, Deborah (2000). Tahlequah and the Cherokee Nation. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738507822.
4. ^ Mark Rhoads maintains a brief review of the early melodies at his website, Amazing Grace: Some Early Tunes, which can be found at the url:
http://www.markrhoads.com/amazingsite/index.htm (accessed April 10, 2007)
5. ^ Rhoades, Mark. Amazing Grace: Some Early Tunes (http://www.markrhoads.com/amazingsite/index.htm). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
6. ^ All Music Guide search (allmusic.com), accessed 21 August 2007 (this site is not linkable.
7. ^ Chart stats - Judy Collins - Amazing Grace (http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=5517). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
8. ^ Christian Music Hall of Fame (http://hallmuseum.com/induction.htm). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
See also
"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.
External links
Amazing Grace: The Story of John Newton (http://www.texasfasola.org/biographies/johnnewton.html)
Amazing Grace and other Gospel Lyrics (http://www.gospelhut.com/amazing-grace-lyrics)
Amazing Grace Original Lyrics (http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html)
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Amazing Grace (http://www.snopes.com/religion/amazing.htm) myths at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
Art of the States: Amazing Grace (http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/piece.pl?pid=288) variations on the hymn by composer John Harbison
Audio samples
Amazing Grace and other Hymns from 1886 hymnal (http://www.antiquebooks.net/readpage.html#hymns)
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
Performed on an Organ
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