Amazing Grace

For other uses, see Amazing Grace (disambiguation).

came curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. Amazing Grace was written to illustrate a sermon on New
Years Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have simply been
chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779
in Newton and Cowpers Olney Hymns but settled into
relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, Amazing Grace was used extensively during the
Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has
been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835
it was joined to a tune named New Britain to which it
is most frequently sung today.

With the message that forgiveness and redemption are

possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul
can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,
Amazing Grace is one of the most recognizable songs in
the English-speaking world. Author Gilbert Chase writes
that it is without a doubt the most famous of all the
folk hymns,[1] and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times
annually.[2] It has had particular inuence in folk music,
and has become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a signicant factor in
its crossover into secular music. Amazing Grace saw a
resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and
has been recorded thousands of times during and since
The bottom of page 53 of Olney Hymns shows the rst stanza of the 20th century, occasionally appearing on popular music charts.
the hymn beginning Amazing Grace!"
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in
1779, with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (17251807).

1 John Newtons conversion

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He

grew up without any particular religious conviction, but
his lifes path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant
insubordination. He was pressed (involuntarily forced)
into service in the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In
1748, a violent storm battered his vessel o the coast of
County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out
to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual
conversion. Whilst his boat was being repaired in Lough
Swilly, he wrote the rst verse of his world famous song.
He did however, continue his slave trading career until
1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and
began studying Christian theology.

How industrious is Satan served. I was formerly one of

his active undertemptors and had my inuence been equal
to my wishes I would have carried all the human race with
me. A common drunkard or proigate is a petty sinner to
what I was.
John Newton, 1778[3]
According to the Dictionary of American Hymnology
Amazing Grace is John Newton's spiritual autobiography in verse.[4]
In 1725, Newton was born in Wapping, a district in London near the Thames. His father was a shipping merchant
who was brought up as a Catholic but had Protestant sympathies, and his mother was a devout Independent unaliated with the Anglican Church. She had intended New-

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton be1

2
ton to become a clergyman, but she died of tuberculosis
when he was six years old.[5] For the next few years,
Newton was raised by his emotionally distant stepmother
while his father was at sea, and spent some time at a
boarding school where he was mistreated.[6] At the age
of eleven, he joined his father on a ship as an apprentice;
his seagoing career would be marked by headstrong disobedience.
As a youth, Newton began a pattern of coming very close
to death, examining his relationship with God, then relapsing into bad habits. As a sailor, he denounced his
faith after being inuenced by a shipmate who discussed
Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, a book
by the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, with him. In a series of
letters he later wrote, Like an unwary sailor who quits his
port just before a rising storm, I renounced the hopes and
comforts of the Gospel at the very time when every other
comfort was about to fail me.[7] His disobedience caused
him to be pressed into the Royal Navy, and he took advantage of opportunities to overstay his leave and nally
deserted to visit Mary Polly Catlett, a family friend with
whom he had fallen in love.[8] After enduring humiliation for deserting,[lower-alpha 1] he managed to get himself
traded to a slave ship where he began a career in slave
trading.[lower-alpha 2]

JOHN NEWTONS CONVERSION

the Sherbro River. After several months he came to think

of Sierra Leone as his home, but his father intervened after Newton sent him a letter describing his circumstances,
and a ship found him by coincidence.[lower-alpha 3] Newton
claimed the only reason he left was because of Polly.[10]
While aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton gained notoriety for being one of the most profane men the captain had ever met. In a culture where sailors commonly
used oaths and swore, Newton was admonished several
times for not only using the worst words the captain had
ever heard, but creating new ones to exceed the limits of
verbal debauchery.[11] In March 1748, while the Greyhound was in the North Atlantic, a violent storm came
upon the ship that was so rough it swept overboard a crew
member who was standing where Newton had been moments before.[lower-alpha 4] After hours of the crew emptying water from the ship and expecting to be capsized,
Newton and another mate tied themselves to the ships
pump to keep from being washed overboard, working for
several hours.[12] After proposing the measure to the captain, Newton had turned and said, If this will not do, then
Lord have mercy upon us!"[13][14] Newton rested briey
before returning to the deck to steer for the next eleven
hours. During his time at the wheel he pondered his divine challenge.[12]
About two weeks later, the battered ship and starving
crew landed in Lough Swilly, Ireland. For several weeks
before the storm, Newton had been reading The Christians Pattern, a summary of the 15th-century The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. The memory of the
uttered phrase in a moment of desperation did not leave
him; he began to ask if he was worthy of Gods mercy or
in any way redeemable as he had not only neglected his
faith but directly opposed it, mocking others who showed
theirs, deriding and denouncing God as a myth. He came
to believe that God had sent him a profound message and
had begun to work through him.[15]

John Newton in his later years

Newton often openly mocked the captain by creating obscene poems and songs about him that became so popular the crew began to join in.[9] He entered into disagreements with several colleagues that resulted in his being starved almost to death, imprisoned while at sea and
chained like the slaves they carried, then outright enslaved
and forced to work on a plantation in Sierra Leone near

Newtons conversion was not immediate, but he contacted Pollys family and announced his intentions to
marry her. Her parents were hesitant as he was known
to be unreliable and impetuous. They knew he was profane, but they allowed him to write to Polly, and he set to
begin to submit to authority for her sake.[16] He sought a
place on a slave ship bound for Africa, and Newton and
his crewmates participated in most of the same activities
he had written about before; the only immorality from
which he was able to free himself was profanity. After a severe illness his resolve was renewed, yet he retained the same attitude towards slavery as was held by
his contemporaries.[lower-alpha 5] Newton continued in the
slave trade through several voyages where he sailed up
rivers in Africa now as a captain procured slaves being oered for sale in larger ports, and subsequently transported them to North America. In between voyages, he
married Polly in 1750 and he found it more dicult to
leave her at the beginning of each trip. After three shipping experiences in the slave trade, Newton was promised

2.1

Olney Hymns

a position as ships captain with cargo unrelated to slavery He will my shield and portion be
when, at the age of thirty, he collapsed and never sailed As long as life endures.
again.[17][lower-alpha 6]
Yes, when this esh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.
John Newton, Olney Hymns, 1779

The vicarage in Olney, where Newton wrote the hymn that would
become Amazing Grace

Olney curate

Working as a customs agent in Liverpool starting in 1756,

Newton began to teach himself Latin, Greek, and theology. He and Polly immersed themselves in the church
community, and Newtons passion was so impressive that
his friends suggested he become a priest in the Church of
England. He was turned down by the Bishop of York in
1758, ostensibly for having no university degree,[18] although the more likely reasons were his leanings toward
evangelism and tendency to socialize with Methodists.[19]
Newton continued his devotions, and after being encouraged by a friend, he wrote about his experiences in the
slave trade and his conversion. The Earl of Dartmouth,
impressed with his story, sponsored Newton for ordination with the Bishop of Lincoln, and oered him the
curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1764.[20]

2.1

Olney Hymns

Main article: Olney Hymns

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I rst believ'd!
Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promisd good to me,
His word my hope secures;

Olney was a village of about 2,500 residents whose main

industry was making lace by hand. The people were
mostly illiterate and many of them were poor.[2] Newtons preaching was unique in that he shared many of his
own experiences from the pulpit; many clergy preached
from a distance, not admitting any intimacy with temptation or sin. He was involved in his parishioners lives
and was much loved, although his writing and delivery
were sometimes unpolished.[21] But his devotion and conviction were apparent and forceful, and he often said his
mission was to break a hard heart and to heal a broken
heart.[22] He struck a friendship with William Cowper,
a gifted writer who had failed at a career in law and suffered bouts of insanity, attempting suicide several times.
Cowper enjoyed Olney and Newtons company; he was
also new to Olney and had gone through a spiritual conversion similar to Newtons. Together, their eect on the
local congregation was impressive. In 1768, they found
it necessary to start a weekly prayer meeting to meet the
needs of an increasing number of parishioners. They also
began writing lessons for children.[23]
Partly from Cowpers literary inuence, and partly because learned vicars were expected to write verses, Newton began to try his hand at hymns, which had become
popular through the language, made plain for common
people to understand. Several prolic hymn writers were
at their most productive in the 18th century, including Isaac Watts whose hymns Newton had grown up
hearing[24] and Charles Wesley, with whom Newton
was familiar. Wesleys brother John, the eventual founder
of the Methodist Church, had encouraged Newton to go
into the clergy.[lower-alpha 7] Watts was a pioneer in English
hymn writing, basing his work the Psalms. The most
prevalent hymns by Watts and others were written in the
common meter in 8.6.8.6: the rst line is eight syllables
and the second is six.[25]
Newton and Cowper attempted to present a poem or
hymn for each prayer meeting. The lyrics to Amazing
Grace were written in late 1772 and probably used in a
prayer meeting for the rst time on January 1, 1773.[25]
A collection of the poems Newton and Cowper had written for use in services at Olney was bound and published
anonymously in 1779 under the title Olney Hymns. Newton contributed 280 of the 348 texts in Olney Hymns; 1

3 DISSEMINATION

Chronicles 17:1617, Faiths Review and Expectation hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high
was the title of the poem with the rst line Amazing degree, O LORD God.
grace! (how sweet the sound)".[4]
1 Chronicles 17:1617, King James Version

2.2

Critical analysis

The general impact of Olney Hymns was immediate and it

became a widely popular tool for evangelicals in Britain
for many years. Scholars appreciated Cowpers poetry
somewhat more than Newtons plaintive and plain language driven from his forceful personality. The most
prevalent themes in the verses written by Newton in Olney
Hymns are faith in salvation, wonder at Gods grace, his
love for Jesus, and his cheerful exclamations of the joy he
found in his faith.[26] As a reection of Newtons connection to his parishioners, he wrote many of the hymns in
rst person, admitting his own experience with sin. Bruce
Hindmarsh in Sing Them Over Again To Me: Hymns and
Hymnbooks in America considers Amazing Grace an
excellent example of Newtons testimonial style aorded
by the use of this perspective.[27] Several of Newtons
hymns were recognized as great work (Amazing Grace
was not among them) while others seem to have been included to ll in when Cowper was unable to write.[28]
Jonathan Aitken calls Newton, specically referring to
Amazing Grace, an unashamedly middlebrow lyricist
writing for a lowbrow congregation, noting that only
twenty-one of the nearly 150 words used in all six verses
have more than one syllable.[29]
William Phipps in the Anglican Theological Review and
author James Basker have interpreted the rst stanza of
Amazing Grace as evidence of Newtons realization
that his participation in the slave trade was his wretchedness, perhaps representing a wider common understanding of Newtons motivations.[30][31] Newton joined forces
with a young man named William Wilberforce, the
British Member of Parliament who led the Parliamentarian campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, culminating in the Slave Trade Act 1807. However,
Newton became an ardent and outspoken abolitionist after he left Olney in the 1780s; he never connected the
construction of the hymn that became Amazing Grace
to anti-slavery sentiments.[32] The lyrics in Olney Hymns
were arranged by their association to the Biblical verses
that would be used by Newton and Cowper in their prayer
meetings and did not address any political objective. For
Newton, the beginning of the year was a time to reect on
ones spiritual progress. At the same time he completed a
diary which has since been lost that he had begun 17
years before, two years after he quit sailing. The last entry
of 1772 was a recounting of how much he had changed
since then.[33]

The title ascribed to the hymn, "1 Chronicles 17:1617,

refers to David's reaction to the prophet Nathan telling
him that God intends to maintain his family line forever.
Some Christians interpret this as a prediction that Jesus
Christ, as a descendant of David, was promised by God
as the salvation for all people.[34] Newtons sermon on
that January day in 1773 focused on the necessity to express ones gratefulness for Gods guidance, that God is
involved in the daily lives of Christians though they may
not be aware of it, and that patience for deliverance from
the daily trials of life is warranted when the glories of
eternity await.[35] Newton saw himself a sinner like David
who had been chosen, perhaps undeservedly,[36] and was
humbled by it. According to Newton, unconverted sinners were blinded by the god of this world until mercy
came to us not only undeserved but undesired ... our
hearts endeavored to shut him out till he overcame us by
the power of his grace.[33]
The New Testament served as the basis for many of the
lyrics of Amazing Grace. The rst verse, for example,
can be traced to the story of the Prodigal Son. In the
Gospel of Luke the father says, For this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. The
story of Jesus healing a blind man who tells the Pharisees
that he can now see is told in the Gospel of John. Newton used the words I was blind but now I see and declared Oh to grace how great a debtor!" in his letters and
diary entries as early as 1752.[37] The eect of the lyrical arrangement, according to Bruce Hindmarsh, allows
an instant release of energy in the exclamation Amazing grace!", to be followed by a qualifying reply in how
sweet the sound. In An Annotated Anthology of Hymns,
Newtons use of an exclamation at the beginning of his
verse is called crude but eective in an overall composition that suggest(s) a forceful, if simple, statement
of faith.[36] Grace is recalled three times in the following verse, culminating in Newtons most personal story
of his conversion, underscoring the use of his personal
testimony with his parishioners.[27]
The sermon preached by Newton was his last, of those
that William Cowper heard in Olney, since Cowpers
mental instability returned shortly thereafter. Steve
Turner, author of Amazing Grace: The Story of Americas Most Beloved Song, suggests Newton may have had
his friend in mind, employing the themes of assurance
and deliverance from despair for Cowpers benet.[38]

And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and
said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, 3 Dissemination
that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a
small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spo- Although it had its roots in England, Amazing Grace
ken of thy servants house for a great while to come, and became an integral part of the Christian tapestry in the

5
Shout, shout aloud for glory;
Brother, sister, mourner,
All shout glory hallelujah.[1]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference turner115-116

was invoked but never dened (see the help page).

An 1847 publication of Southern Harmony, showing the title

New Britain and shape note music.

United States. More than 60 of Newton and Cowpers

hymns were republished in other British hymnals and
magazines, but Amazing Grace was not, appearing only
once in a 1780 hymnal sponsored by the Countess of
Huntingdon. Scholar John Julian commented in his 1892
A Dictionary of Hymnology that outside of the United
States, the song was unknown and it was far from being
a good example of Newtons nest work.[39][lower-alpha 8]
Between 1789 and 1799, four variations of Newtons
hymn were published in the U.S. in Baptist, Dutch Reformed, and Congregationalist hymnodies;[34] by 1830
Presbyterians and Methodists also included Newtons
verses in their hymnals.[40][41]

Simultaneously, an unrelated movement of communal

singing was established throughout the South and Western states. A format of teaching music to illiterate people
appeared in 1800. It used four sounds to symbolize the
basic scale: fa-sol-la-fa-sol-la-mi-fa. Each sound was accompanied by a specically shaped note and thus became
known as shape note singing. The method was simple to
learn and teach, so schools were established throughout
the South and West. Communities would come together
for an entire day of singing in a large building where they
sat in four distinct areas surrounding an open space, one
member directing the group as a whole. Most of the music was Christian, but the purpose of communal singing
was not primarily spiritual. Communities either could
not aord music accompaniment or rejected it out of a
Calvinistic sense of simplicity, so the songs were sung a
cappella.[43]

The greatest inuences in the 19th century that propelled

Amazing Grace to spread across the U.S. and become
a staple of religious services in many denominations and
regions were the Second Great Awakening and the development of shape note singing communities. A tremendous religious movement swept the U.S. in the early 19th
century, marked by the growth and popularity of churches
and religious revivals that got their start in Kentucky and
Tennessee. Unprecedented gatherings of thousands of
people attended camp meetings where they came to experience salvation; preaching was ery and focused on saving the sinner from temptation and backsliding.[42] Religion was stripped of ornament and ceremony, and made
as plain and simple as possible; sermons and songs often
used repetition to get across to a rural population of poor
and mostly uneducated people the necessity of turning
away from sin. Witnessing and testifying became an integral component to these meetings, where a congregation
member or even a stranger would rise and recount his turn
from a sinful life to one of piety and peace.[40] Amazing Grace was one of many hymns that punctuated fervent sermons, although the contemporary style used a refrain, borrowed from other hymns, that employed simplicity and repetition such as:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
Shout, shout for glory,

William Walker, the composer who rst joined John Newtons

verses to New Britain, to create the song that has become
Amazing Grace

3.1

3 DISSEMINATION

New Britain tune

When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing Gods praise,
When originally used in Olney, it is unknown what mu- Than when we rst begun.[1][2]
sic, if any, accompanied the verses written by John Newton. Contemporary hymnbooks did not contain music
1. ^ Aitken, p. 235.
and were simply small books of religious poetry. The
rst known instance of Newtons lines joined to music
2. ^ Watson, p. 216.
was in A Companion to the Countess of Huntingdons
Hymns (London, 1808), where it is set to the tune HepAmazing Grace came to be an emblem of a Chrishzibah by English composer John Jenkins Husband.[44]
tian movement and a symbol of the U.S. itself as the
Common meter hymns were interchangeable with a vacountry was involved in a great political experiment, atriety of tunes; more than twenty musical settings of
tempting to employ democracy as a means of governAmazing Grace circulated with varying popularity unment. Shape note singing communities, with all the memtil 1835 when William Walker assigned Newtons words
bers sitting around an open center, each song employing
to a traditional song named New Britain, which was ita dierent director, illustrated this in practice. Simulself an amalgamation of two melodies (Gallaher and
taneously, the U.S. began to expand westward into previSt. Mary) rst published in the Columbian Harmony
ously unexplored territory that was often wilderness. The
by Charles H. Spilman and Benjamin Shaw (Cincinnati,
dangers, toils, and snares of Newtons lyrics had both
1829). Spilman and Shaw, both students at Kentuckys
literal and gurative meanings for Americans.[50] This
Centre College, compiled their tunebook both for public
became poignantly true during the most serious test of
worship and revivals, to satisfy the wants of the Church
American cohesion in the U.S. Civil War (18611865).
in her triumphal march. Most of the tunes had been preAmazing Grace set to New Britain was included in
viously published, but Gallaher and St. Mary had
two hymnals distributed to soldiers and with death so
[45]
not.
As neither tune is attributed and both show elereal and imminent, religious services in the military bements of oral transmission, scholars can only speculate
came commonplace.[52] The hymn was translated into
[46]
that they are possibly of British origin. A manuscript
other languages as well: while on the Trail of Tears, the
from 1828 by Lucius Chapin, a famous hymn writer of
Cherokee sang Christian hymns as a way of coping with
that time, contains a tune very close to St. Mary, but
the ongoing tragedy, and a version of the song by Samuel
[47]
that does not mean that he wrote it.
Worcester that had been translated into the Cherokee lanAmazing Grace, with the words written by Newton and guage became very popular.[53][54]
joined with New Britain, the melody most currently associated with it, appeared for the rst time in Walkers
shape note tunebook Southern Harmony in 1847.[48] It 3.2 Urban revival
was, according to author Steve Turner, a marriage made
in heaven ... The music behind 'amazing' had a sense of Although Amazing Grace set to New Britain was
awe to it. The music behind 'grace' sounded graceful. popular, other versions existed regionally. Primitive BapThere was a rise at the point of confession, as though the tists in the Appalachian region often used New Britain
author was stepping out into the open and making a bold with other hymns, and sometimes sing the words of
declaration, but a corresponding fall when admitting his Amazing Grace to other folk songs, including titles
blindness.[49] Walkers collection was enormously popu- such as "In the Pines", Pisgah, Primrose, and Evan,
lar, selling about 600,000 copies all over the U.S. when as all are able to be sung in common meter, of which the
the total population was just over 20 million. Another majority of their repertoire consists.[55][56] A tune named
shape note tunebook named The Sacred Harp (1844) by Arlington accompanied Newtons verses as much as
Georgia residents Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha New Britain for a time in the late 19th century.
J. King became widely inuential and continues to be Two musical arrangers named Dwight Moody and Ira
used.[50]
Sankey heralded another religious revival in the cities of
Another verse was rst recorded in Harriet Beecher
Stowe's immensely inuential 1852 anti-slavery novel
Uncle Toms Cabin. Three verses were emblematically
sung by Tom in his hour of deepest crisis.[51] He sings the
sixth and fth verses in that order, and Stowe included another verse not written by Newton that had been passed
down orally in African American communities for at least
50 years. It was originally one of between 50 to 70 verses
of a song titled Jerusalem, My Happy Home that rst
appeared in a 1790 book called A Collection of Sacred
Ballads:

the U.S. and Europe, giving the song international exposure. Moodys preaching and Sankeys musical gifts were
signicant; their arrangements were the forerunners of
gospel music, and churches all over the U.S. were eager
to acquire them.[57] Moody and Sankey began publishing their compositions in 1875, and Amazing Grace appeared three times with three dierent melodies, but they
were the rst to give it its title; hymns were typically published using the rst line of the lyrics, or the name of the
tune such as New Britain. A publisher named Edwin
Othello Excell gave the version of Amazing Grace set

7
to New Britain immense popularity by publishing it in
a series of hymnals that were used in urban churches.
Excell altered some of Walkers music, making it more
contemporary and European, giving New Britain some
distance from its rural folk-music origins. Excells version was more palatable for a growing urban middle class
and arranged for larger church choirs. Several editions
featuring Newtons rst three stanzas and the verse previously included by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Toms
Cabin were published by Excell between 1900 and 1910,
and his version of Amazing Grace became the standard
form of the song in American churches.[58][59]

Recorded versions

With the advent of recorded music and radio, Amazing Grace began to cross over from primarily a gospel
standard to secular audiences. The ability to record combined with the marketing of records to specic audiences
allowed Amazing Grace to take on thousands of different forms in the 20th century. Where Edwin Othello
Excell sought to make the singing of Amazing Grace
uniform throughout thousands of churches, records allowed artists to improvise with the words and music specic to each audience. AllMusic lists more than 7,000
recordings including re-releases and compilations as
of September 2011.[60] Its rst recording is an a cappella version from 1922 by the Sacred Harp Choir. It
was included from 1926 to 1930 in Okeh Records' catalogue, which typically concentrated strongly on blues and
jazz. Demand was high for black gospel recordings of
the song by H. R. Tomlin and J. M. Gates. A poignant
sense of nostalgia accompanied the recordings of several
gospel and blues singers in the 1940s and 1950s who used
the song to remember their grandparents, traditions, and
family roots.[61] It was recorded with musical accompaniment for the rst time in 1930 by Fiddlin' John Carson, although to another folk hymn named At the Cross,
not to New Britain.[62] Amazing Grace is emblematic
of several kinds of folk music styles, often used as the
standard example to illustrate such musical techniques as
lining out and call and response, that have been practiced
in both black and white folk music.[63]

and worldly miseries.[31] Anthony Heilbut, author of The

Gospel Sound, states that the dangers, toils, and snares
of Newtons words are a universal testimony of the
African American experience.[66] In the 1960s with the
African American Civil Rights Movement and opposition
to the Vietnam War, the song took on a political tone.
Mahalia Jackson employed Amazing Grace for Civil
Rights marchers, writing that she used it to give magical protection a charm to ward o danger, an incantation to the angels of heaven to descend ... I was not sure
the magic worked outside the church walls ... in the open
air of Mississippi. But I wasn't taking any chances.[67]
Folk singer Judy Collins, who knew the song before she
could remember learning it, witnessed Fannie Lou Hamer
leading marchers in Mississippi in 1964, singing Amazing Grace. Collins also considered it a talisman of sorts,
and saw its equal emotional impact on the marchers, witnesses, and law enforcement who opposed the civil rights
demonstrators.[3] According to fellow folk singer Joan
Baez, it was one of the most requested songs from her
audiences, but she never realized its origin as a hymn;
by the time she was singing it in the 1960s she said it
had developed a life of its own.[68] It even made an appearance at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 during
Arlo Guthrie's performance.[69]

Collins decided to record it in the late 1960s amid an atmosphere of counterculture introspection; she was part
of an encounter group that ended a contentious meeting
by singing Amazing Grace as it was the only song to
which all the members knew the words. Her producer
was present and suggested she include a version of it on
her 1970 album Whales & Nightingales. Collins, who
had a history of alcohol abuse, claimed that the song was
able to pull her through to recovery.[3] It was recorded
in St. Pauls, the chapel at Columbia University, chosen
for the acoustics. She chose an a cappella arrangement
that was close to Edwin Othello Excells, accompanied
by a chorus of amateur singers who were friends of hers.
Collins connected it to the Vietnam War, to which she
objected: I didn't know what else to do about the war
in Vietnam. I had marched, I had voted, I had gone to
jail on political actions and worked for the candidates I
believed in. The war was still raging. There was nothing left to do, I thought ... but sing 'Amazing Grace'.[70]
Gradually and unexpectedly, the song began to be played
Those songs come out of conviction and suering. The on the radio, and then be requested. It rose to number
Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for
worst voices can get through singing them 'cause they're 15 on the [71]
as if, she wrote, her fans had been waiting
15
weeks,
telling their experiences.
[72]
to
embrace
it.
In the UK, it charted 8 times between
Mahalia Jackson[64]
1970 and 1972, peaking at number 5 and spending a total
of 75 weeks on popular music charts.[73]
Mahalia Jackson's 1947 version received signicant ra- Although Collins used it as a catharsis for her opposition
dio airplay, and as her popularity grew throughout the to the Vietnam War, two years after her rendition, the
1950s and 1960s, she often sang it at public events such Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, senior Scottish regiment of
as concerts at Carnegie Hall.[65] Author James Basker the British Army, recorded an instrumental version feastates that the song has been employed by African Amer- turing a bagpipe soloist accompanied by a pipe and drum
icans as the paradigmatic Negro spiritual because it band. The tempo of their arrangement was slowed to alexpresses the joy felt at being delivered from slavery

low for the bagpipes, but it was based on Collins: it began with a bagpipe solo introduction similar to her lone
voice, then it was accompanied by the band of bagpipes
and horns, whereas in her version she is backed up by a
chorus. It hit number 1 in the UK singles chart in April
1972, spending 24 weeks total on the charts, topped the
RPM national singles chart in Canada for three weeks,[74]
and rose as high as number 11 in the U.S.[75][76] It is
also a controversial instrumental, as it combined pipes
with a military band. The Pipe Major of the Royal Scots
Dragoon Guards was summoned to Edinburgh Castle and
chastised for demeaning the bagpipes.[77] Funeral processions for killed police, re, and military personnel have
often played a bagpipes version ever since.
Aretha Franklin and Rod Stewart also recorded Amazing Grace around the same time, and both of their renditions were popular.[lower-alpha 9] All four versions were
marketed to distinct types of audiences thereby assuring
its place as a pop song.[78] Johnny Cash recorded it on his
1975 album Sings Precious Memories, dedicating it to his
older brother Jack, who had been killed in a mill accident
when they were boys in Dyess, Arkansas. Cash and his
family sang it to themselves while they worked in the cotton elds following Jacks death. Cash often included the
song when he toured prisons, saying For the three minutes that song is going on, everybody is free. It just frees
the spirit and frees the person.[3]
The U.S. Library of Congress has a collection of 3,000
versions of and songs inspired by Amazing Grace, some
of which were rst-time recordings by folklorists Alan
and John Lomax, a father and son team who in 1932
traveled thousands of miles across the South to capture
the dierent regional styles of the song. More contemporary renditions include samples from such popular artists as Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers (1963),
The Byrds (1970), Elvis Presley (1971), Skeeter Davis
(1972), Mighty Clouds of Joy (1972), Andy Williams
(1972), Amazing Rhythm Aces (1975), Willie Nelson
(1976), The Lemonheads (1992) and Dropkick Murphys
(1999).[62]
Somehow, Amazing Grace [embraced] core American values without ever sounding triumphant or jingoistic. It was a song that could be sung by young and old,
Republican and Democrat, Southern Baptist and Roman
Catholic, African American and Native American, highranking military ocer and anticapitalist campaigner.
Steve Turner, 2002[79]

In popular culture

Following the appropriation of the hymn in secular music, Amazing Grace became such an icon in American culture that it has been used for a variety of secular purposes and marketing campaigns, placing it in dan-

MODERN INTERPRETATIONS

ger of becoming a clich. It has been mass-produced

on souvenirs, lent its name to a Superman villain, appeared on The Simpsons to demonstrate the redemption
of a murderous character named Sideshow Bob, incorporated into Hare Krishna chants and adapted for Wicca
ceremonies.[80] The hymn has been employed in several
lms, including Alices Restaurant, Coal Miners Daughter, and Silkwood. It is referenced in the 2006 lm
Amazing Grace, which highlights Newtons inuence on
the leading British abolitionist William Wilberforce,[81]
and in the upcoming lm biography of Newton, Newtons
Grace.[82] The 1982 science ction lm Star Trek II: The
Wrath of Khan used Amazing Grace amid a context of
Christian symbolism, to memorialize Mr. Spock following his death,[81] but more practically, because the song
has become instantly recognizable to many in the audience as music that sounds appropriate for a funeral according to a Star Trek scholar.[83] Since 1954 when an
organ instrumental of New Britain became a bestseller,
Amazing Grace has been associated with funerals and
memorial services.[84] It has become a song that inspires
hope in the wake of tragedy, becoming a sort of spiritual national anthem according to authors Mary Rourke
and Emily Gwathmey.[85] For example, President Barack
Obama recited and then sang the hymn at the memorial
service for Clementa Pinckney, one of the victims of the
2015 Charleston church shooting.[86]

6 Modern interpretations
In recent years, the words of the hymn have been changed
in some religious publications to downplay a sense of
imposed self-loathing by its singers. The second line,
That saved a wretch like me!" has been rewritten as
That saved and strengthened me, save a soul like
me, or that saved and set me free.[87] Kathleen Norris in her book Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith
characterizes this transformation of the original words
as wretched English making the line that replaces the
original laughably bland.[88] Part of the reason for
this change has been the altered interpretations of what
wretchedness and grace means. Newtons Calvinistic
view of redemption and divine grace formed his perspective that he considered himself a sinner so vile that he was
unable to change his life or be redeemed without Gods
help. Yet his lyrical subtlety, in Steve Turners opinion,
leaves the hymns meaning open to a variety of Christian and non-Christian interpretations.[89] Wretch also
represents a period in Newtons life when he saw himself
outcast and miserable, as he was when he was enslaved in
Sierra Leone; his own arrogance was matched by how far
he had fallen in his life.[90]
The communal understanding of redemption and human
self-worth has changed since Newtons time. Since the
1970s, self-help books, psychology, and some modern
expressions of Christianity have viewed this disparity in

9
edged this force when he explained why he chose Amazing Grace to represent a collection of anti-slavery poetry:
there is a transformative power that is applicable ... : the
transformation of sin and sorrow into grace, of suering
into beauty, of alienation into empathy and connection,
of the unspeakable into imaginative literature.[93]
Moyers interviewed Collins, Cash, opera singer Jessye
Norman, Appalachian folk musician Jean Ritchie and her
family, white Sacred Harp singers in Georgia, black Sacred Harp singers in Alabama, and a prison choir at the
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Collins, Cash, and
Norman were unable to discern if the power of the song
came from the music or the lyrics. Norman, who once
notably sang it at the end of a large outdoor rock concert
for Nelson Mandelas 70th birthday, stated, I don't know
whether its the text I don't know whether we're talking
about the lyrics when we say that it touches so many people or whether its that tune that everybody knows. A
prisoner interviewed by Moyers explained his literal interpretation of the second verse: "'Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved by saying
that the fear became immediately real to him when he
realized he may never get his life in order, compounded
by the loneliness and restriction in prison. Gospel singer
Marion Williams summed up its eect: Thats a song
that gets to everybody.[3]
The Dictionary of American Hymnology claims it is included in more than a thousand published hymnals, and
recommends its use for occasions of worship when we
need to confess with joy that we are saved by Gods grace
alone; as a hymn of response to forgiveness of sin or as
of pardon; as a confession of faith or after
terms of grace being an innate quality within all peo- an assurance[4]
the
sermon.
ple who must be inspired or strong enough to nd it:
something to achieve. In contrast to Newtons vision of
wretchedness as his willful sin and distance from God,
wretchedness has instead come to mean an obstacle of 7 References
physical, social, or spiritual nature to overcome in order
to achieve a state of grace, happiness, or contentment. Explanatory notes
Since its immense popularity and iconic nature, grace
and the meaning behind the words of Amazing Grace [1] Stripped of his rank, whipped in public, and subjected to
the abuses directed to prisoners and other press-ganged
have become as individual as the singer or listener.[91]
men in the Navy, he demonstrated insolence and rebellion
Bruce Hindmarsh suggests that the secular popularity of
during his service for the next few months, remarking that
Amazing Grace is due to the absence of any mention of
the only reason he did not murder the captain or commit
God in the lyrics until the fourth verse (by Excells versuicide was because he did not want Polly to think badly
sion, the fourth verse begins When we've been there ten
of him. (Martin [1950], pp. 4147.)
thousand years), and that the song represents the ability
of humanity to transform itself instead of a transforma- [2] Newton kept a series of detailed journals as a slave trader;
these are perhaps the rst primary source of the Atlantic
tion taking place at the hands of God. Grace, however,
slave trade from the perspective of a merchant (Moyers).
to John Newton had a clearer meaning, as he used the
Women, naked or nearly so, upon their arrival on ship
[92]
word to represent God or the power of God.
A Canadian bagpiper playing Amazing Grace during a memorial service, October 29, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Wilson, Afghanistan

The transformative power of the song was investigated by

journalist Bill Moyers in a documentary released in 1990.
Moyers was inspired to focus on the songs power after
watching a performance at Lincoln Center, where the audience consisted of Christians and non-Christians, and he
noticed that it had an equal impact on everybody in attendance, unifying them.[22] James Basker also acknowl-

were claimed by the sailors, and Newton alluded to sexual

misbehavior in his writings that has since been interpreted
by historians to mean that he, along with other sailors,
took (and presumably raped) whomever he chose. (Martin [1950], pp. 8285)(Aitken, p. 64.)

[3] Newtons father was friends with Joseph Manesty, who intervened several times in Newtons life. Newton was supposed to go to Jamaica on Manestys ship, but missed it

10

while he was with the Catletts. When Newtons father got

his sons letter detailing his conditions in Sierra Leone, he
asked Manesty to nd Newton. Manesty sent the Greyhound, which traveled along the African coast trading at
various stops. An associate of Newton lit a re signaling to
ships he was interested in trading only 30 minutes before
the Greyhound appeared. (Aitken, pp. 3435, 6465.)
[4] Several retellings of Newtons life story claim that he was
carrying slaves during the voyage in which he experienced
his conversion, but the ship was carrying livestock, wood,
and beeswax from the coast of Africa. (Aitken, p. 76.)
[5] When Newton began his journal in 1750, not only was
slave trading seen as a respectable profession by the majority of Britons, its necessity to the overall prosperity of
the kingdom was communally understood and approved.
Only Quakers, who were much in the minority and perceived as eccentric, had raised any protest about the practice. (Martin and Spurrell [1962], pp. xixii.)
[6] Newtons biographers and Newton himself does not put
a name to this episode other than a t in which he became unresponsive, suering dizziness and a headache.
His doctor advised him not to go to sea again, and Newton
complied. Jonathan Aitken called it a stroke or seizure,
but its cause is unknown. (Martin [1950], pp. 140
141.)(Aitken, p. 125.)
[7] Watts had previously written a hymn named Alas! And
Did My Saviour Bleed that contained the lines Amazing
pity! Grace unknown!/ And love beyond degree!". Philip
Doddridge, another well-known hymn writer, wrote another in 1755 titled The Humiliation and Exaltation of
Gods Israel that began Amazing grace of God on high!"
and included other similar wording to Newtons verses.
Newton biographer Jonathan Aitken states that Watts had
inspired most of Newtons compositions. (Turner, pp.
8283.)(Aitken, pp. 2829.)
[8] Only since the 1950s has it gained some popularity in the
UK; not until 1964 was it published with the music most
commonly associated with it. (Noll and Blumhofer, p. 8)
[9] Franklins version is a prime example of long meter
rendition: she sings several notes representing a syllable
and the vocals are more dramatic and lilting. Her version
lasts over ten minutes in comparison to the Royal Scots
Dragoon Guards that lasts under three minutes. (Tallmadge)(Turner, pp. 150151.)

Citations

[7] Newton (1824), pp. 2122.

[8] Martin (1950), p. 23.
[9] Martin (1950), pp. 5152.
[10] Martin (1950), p. 63.
[11] Martin (1950), pp. 6768.
[12] Martin (1950), p. 73.
[13] Newton (1824), p. 41.
[14] Martin (1950), pp. 7071.
[15] Aitken, pp. 8184.
[16] Martin (1950), pp. 8285.
[17] Aitken, p. 125.
[18] Martin (1950), pp. 166188.
[19] Aitken, pp. 153154.
[20] Martin (1950), pp. 198200.
[21] Martin (1950), pp. 208217.
[22] Pollock, John (2009). Amazing Grace: The great Sea
Change in the Life of John Newton, The Trinity Forum
Reading, The Trinity Forum.
[23] Turner, p. 76.
[24] Aitken, p. 28.
[25] Turner, pp. 7779.
[26] Benson, p. 339.
[27] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 6.
[28] Benson, p. 338.
[29] Aitken, p. 226.
[30] Phipps, William (Summer 1990). " 'Amazing Grace' in
the hymnwriters life, Anglican Theological Review, 72
(3), pp. 306313.
[31] Basker, p. 281.
[32] Aitken, p. 231.
[33] Aitken, p. 227.
[34] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 8.

[1] Chase, p. 181.

[35] Turner, p. 81.

[2] Aitken, p. 224.

[36] Watson, p. 215.

[3] Moyers, Bill (director). Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers,

Public Aairs Television, Inc. (1990).

[37] Aitken, p. 228.

[4] Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound, Dictionary of

American Hymnology. Retrieved on October 31, 2009.

REFERENCES

[38] Turner, p. 86.

[39] Julian, p. 55.

[5] Martin (1950), pp. 89.

[40] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 10.

[6] Newton (1824), p. 12.

[41] Aitken, pp. 232233.

11

[42] Turner, pp. 115116.

[72] Collins, p. 166.

[43] Turner, p. 117.

[73] Brown, Kutner, and Warwick p. 179.

[44] The Hymn Tune Index, Search="Hephzibah. University

of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana Library website. Retrieved on December 31, 2010.

[74] Top Singles Volume 17, No. 17, June 10 1972 RPM
Magazine (June 10, 1972). Retrieved November 4, 2011.

[45] Turner, pp. 120122.

[46] Turner, p. 123.
[47] Rachel Wells Hall (May 12, 2015). Did Lucius Chapin
write the Amazing Grace tune?".
[48] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 11.
[49] Turner, p. 124.
[50] Turner, p. 126.
[51] Stowe, p. 417.
[52] Turner, pp. 127128.
[53] Duvall, p. 35.
[54] Swiderski, p. 91.
[55] Patterson, p. 137.
[56] Sutton, Brett (January 1982). Shape-Note Tune Books
and Primitive Hymns, Ethnomusicology, 26 (1), pp. 11
26.

[75] Brown, Kutner, and Warwick p. 757.

[76] Whitburn, p. 610.
[77] Turner, p. 188.
[78] Turner, p. 192.
[79] Turner, p. 205.
[80] Turner, pp. 195205.
[81] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 15.
[82] Wesley Young, A tale of grace: Local lmmaker bringing story of John Newton to life Winston-Salem Journal,
August 1, 2013
[83] Porter and McLaren, p. 157.
[84] Turner, p. 159.
[85] Rourke and Gwathmey, p. 108.
[86] President Obama: Emanuel AME 'a phoenix rising from
the ashes". MSNBC. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2015-0628.

[57] Turner, pp. 133135.

[87] Saunders, William (2003). Lenten Music Arlington

Catholic Herald. Retrieved on February 7, 2010.

[58] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 13.

[88] Norris, p. 66.

[59] Turner, pp. 137138, 140145.

[89] Turner, pp. 213214.

[60] AllMusic search=Amazing Grace Song, AllMusic. Retrieved on September 18, 2011.

[90] Bruner and Ware, pp. 3132.

[61] Turner, pp. 154155.

[62] Amazing Grace: Special Presentation: Amazing Grace
Timeline United States Library of Congress Performing
Arts Encyclopedia. Retrieved on November 1, 2008.
[63] Tallmadge, William (May 1961). Dr. Watts and Mahalia
Jackson: The Development, Decline, and Survival of a
Folk Style in America, Ethnomusicology, 5 (2), pp. 95
99.
[64] Turner, p. 157.
[65] Mahalia Jackson. Dictionary of American Biography,
Supplement 9: 19711975. Charles Scribners Sons,
1994.
[66] Turner, p. 148.
[67] Aitken, p. 236.
[68] Turner, p. 162.
[69] Turner, p. 175.
[70] Collins, p. 165.
[71] Whitburn, p. 144.

[91] Turner, pp. 218220.

[92] Noll and Blumhofer, p. 16.
[93] Basker, p. xxxiv.

Bibliography
Aitken, Jonathan (2007). John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, Crossway Books. ISBN 158134-848-7
Basker, James (2002). Amazing Grace: An Anthology of Poems About Slavery, 16601810, Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09172-9
Benson, Louis (1915). The English Hymn: Its Development and Use in Worship, The Presbyterian Board
of Publication, Philadelphia.
Bradley, Ian (ed.)(1989). The Book of Hymns, The
Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-346-2
Brown, Tony; Kutner, Jon; Warwick, Neil (2000).
Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles & Albums, Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-7670-8

12

EXTERNAL LINKS

Bruner, Kurt; Ware, Jim (2007). Finding God in the

Story of Amazing Grace, Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc. ISBN 1-4143-1181-8

Turner, Steve (2002). Amazing Grace: The Story of

Americas Most Beloved Song, HarperCollins. ISBN
0-06-000219-0

Chase, Gilbert (1987). Americas Music, From the

Pilgrims to the Present, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-25200454-X

Watson, J. R. (ed.)(2002). An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-826973-0

Collins, Judy (1998). Singing Lessons: A Memoir

of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing , Pocket Books.
ISBN 0-671-02745-X

Whitburn, Joel (2003). Joel Whitburns Top Pop Singles, 19552002, Record Research, Inc. ISBN 089820-155-1

Duvall, Deborah (2000). Tahlequah and the Cherokee Nation, Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-73850782-2
Julian, John (ed.)(1892). A Dictionary of Hymnology, Charles Scribners Sons, New York.
Martin, Bernard (1950). John Newton: A Biography, William Heineman, Ltd., London.
Martin, Bernard and Spurrell, Mark, (eds.)(1962).
The Journal of a Slave Trader (John Newton), The
Epworth Press, London.

8 External links
Amazing Grace at Hymnary.org
The Amazing Grace
U.S. Library of Congress Amazing Grace collection
Cowper & Newton Museum in Olney, England
Amazing Grace: Some Early Tunes Anthology of
the American Hymn-Tune Repertory

Newton, John (1811). Thoughts Upon the African

Slave Trade, Samuel Whiting and Co., London.

Amazing Grace: The story behind the song and its

connection to Lough Swilly

Newton, John (1824). The Works of the Rev. John

Newton Late Rector of the United Parishes of St.
Mary Woolnoth and St. Mary Woolchurch Haw,
London: Volume 1, Nathan Whiting, London.

Amazing Grace Versions Online Sort

Noll, Mark A.; Blumhofer, Edith L. (eds.) (2006).

Sing Them Over Again to Me: Hymns and Hymnbooks in America, University of Alabama Press.
ISBN 0-8173-1505-5
Norris, Kathleen (1999). Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Riverhead. ISBN 1-57322-078-7
Patterson, Beverly Bush (1995). The Sound of
the Dove: Singing in Appalachian Primitive Baptist
Churches, University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-25202123-1
Porter, Jennifer; McLaren, Darcee (eds.)(1999).
Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star
Trek, Religion, and American Culture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-585-29190-X
Rourke, Mary; Gwathmey, Emily (1996). Amazing
Grace in America: Our Spiritual National Anthem,
Angel City Press. ISBN 1-883318-30-0
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1899). Uncle Toms Cabin,
or Life Among the Lowly, R. F. Fenno & Company,
New York City.
Swiderski, Richard (1996). The Metamorphosis of
English: Versions of Other Languages, Greenwood
Publishing Group. ISBN 0-89789-468-5

13

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Amazing Grace Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace?oldid=675035165 Contributors: Tbc~enwiki, Wesley, Bryan

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brain, Prosperosity, Sankku, Rreagan007, Patgillen3, NellieBly, Good Olfactory, Kbdankbot, Amc292007, Addbot, ERK, Kelly, Willking1979, RandySavageFTW, Bushcutter, Tarosic, Martindo, CactusWriter, Musdan77, Morning277, Lihaas, Zero no Kamen, Lemonade100, Tassedethe, Dayewalker, Jarble, LuK3, Legobot, Luckas-bot, ZX81, Yobot, , TaBOT-zerem, Estudiarme, Victoriaearle, The Earwig, Hotrin21, Sabaku no Phobic, SwisterTwister, AnomieBOT, Ciphers, Zootropic, Rjanag, Ipatrol, Glenfarclas, Giovannii84, Xqbot, FIA2008, Ched, Happyfeijoa, Carlossfsu, Coverage1600, Kohoutek1138, FrescoBot, LucienBOT, Heyus, Hamiltonalan, Chevymontecarlo, D'ohBot, BenzolBot, HMarieF, Finn Froding, Pinethicket, Fife5000, Rgard, Jorgicio, Musicmagic1, Fui in terra
aliena, Shymian, Turian, Cnwilliams, Gerda Arendt, Egorock, Lotje, BKP, EdFalzer, AmyzzXX, PeHa, Mauri96, Diannaa, CARadke,
Guerillero, RjwilmsiBot, ChristianCole, Beyond My Ken, Tvashtar2919, Black85ball, Pilgrim32, John of Reading, Th302, WikitanvirBot, ScottyBerg, Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars, RA0808, Gimmetoo, EricValley, Moni3ontheroad, Riggr Mortis, TEHodson, Savanahfox,
Wherelovelives, Dualdraggon, Scarblu, Dohn joe, Abbyzwart, Jerkvania, ChuispastonBot, Nebula524, Zcount, TYelliot, Rocketrod1960,
ClueBot NG, Paggz, Trystanburke, Eastenra, Aristitleism, Cj005257, Hazhk, Widr, Telpardec, Helpful Pixie Bot, Calabe1992, Mrbaab,
Lowercase sigmabot, Theherald1000, Pine, Roberticus, George Ponderevo, Hallows AG, Mark Arsten, Ganxuming, LongLiveMusic, Jfhutson, 23haveblue, Loriendrew, Tomh903, ChrisGualtieri, YFdyh-bot, Khazar2, Dexbot, Br'er Rabbit, Webclient101, Nicole7Seven, Montague80, Kyleazzara, Papita para el minho, JustAMuggle, Revision1900, LyricsBot, Tweny13, TrollishTackyBling, Aircraft1, Ashorocetus,
Synthwave.94, Atikabubu, Courtneyxo, RayPaseur, Stryperfan, Billtyers, KasparBot, HIYAMAN SUX, Hiyaman sucks, DisuseKid and
Anonymous: 618

9.2

Images

File:Afghanistan_bagpiper.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Afghanistan_bagpiper.jpg License: CC

BY 2.0 Contributors: We remember Original artist: ISAF Headquarters Public Aairs Oce from Kabul, Afghanistan
File:Amazing_Grace-The_Royal_Scots_Dragoon_Guards_1972.ogg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/
Amazing_Grace-The_Royal_Scots_Dragoon_Guards_1972.ogg License: Fair use Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Amazing_Grace_(USAFB_jazz_vocal).ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Amazing_Grace_
%28USAFB_jazz_vocal%29.ogg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.usafband.af.mil/ensembles/BandEnsSongs.asp?

14

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Ensemble=$-$1&Genre=6 Original artist: James Carrell/David Clayton/w:John Newton, arranged by MSgt. Alan Baylock, performed by
The United States Air Force Band Airmen of Note
File:Amazing_Grace_(USAFB_strings).ogg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Amazing_Grace_
%28USAFB_strings%29.ogg License:
Public domain Contributors:
http://www.usafband.af.mil/ensembles/BandEnsSongs.asp?
ensemble=57 Original artist: James Carrell/David Clayton/w:John Newton, performed by United States Air Force Band Strolling Strings
File:Amazing_Grace_-_Judy_Collins_1970.ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/Amazing_Grace_-_Judy_
Collins_1970.ogg License: Fair use Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Amazing_Grace_-_Sacred_Harp_Singing_Society.ogg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/
Amazing_Grace_-_Sacred_Harp_Singing_Society.ogg License: Public domain Contributors: http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.
ihas.200049059/default.html (direct link) Original artist: Sacred Harp Singing Society, Birmingham, Alabama
File:Amazing_grace2.ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Amazing_grace2.ogg License: Public domain
Contributors: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/h?ammem/lomaxbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(l2684a1)) Original artist: Jesse Allison,
Vera Hall, Reed Dock (Group of Convicts; Reed, Dock (Zebediah))
File:Audio_a.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Audio_a.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
'A'_(PSF).png Original artist: 'A'_(PSF).png: Pearson Scott Foresman
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work. Based on File:Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.
svg, which is public domain. Original artist: User:Eubulides
File:New_Britain_Southern_Harmony_Amazing_Grace.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/New_
Britain_Southern_Harmony_Amazing_Grace.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: U.S Library of Congress and [1] Original artist:
Southern Harmony was published by William Walker; the image is hosted at the U.S. Library of Congress
File:Newton_j.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Newton_j.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
The Cowper and Newton Museum Original artist: Joseph Collyer the Younger, after John Russell
File:Olney_Hymns_page_53_Amazing_Grace.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Olney_Hymns_
page_53_Amazing_Grace.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transfer was stated to be made by
User:Lucien leGrey.
Original artist: Olney Hymns was published by John Newton and William Cowper; the image is hosted at the U.S. Library of Congress.
Original uploader was Moni3 at en.wikipedia
File:Olney_vicarage.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Olney_vicarage.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transfer was stated to be made by User:Lucien leGrey.
Original artist: T. Sulman. Original uploader was Moni3 at en.wikipedia
File:P_christianity.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/P_christianity.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Walker_w.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Walker_w.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
CyberHymnal, and p. 112 of Turner, Steve (2002). Amazing Grace: The Story of Americas Most Beloved Song, HarperCollins. ISBN
0060002190 Original artist: Unknown
File:Wikibooks-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikibooks-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Bastique, User:Ramac et al.
File:Wikisource-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Rei-artur Original artist: Nicholas Moreau

9.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0