Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace" is a poem written in 1772 by Englishman John Newton. The poem named, "Faith's Review and Expectation", was where the song came from. It was set to music. A seventh stanza, by an unknown author, has been added to most versions since 1829, beginning with the words, "When we've been there ten thousand years". In some versions, stanzas five and six to the song are cut and go directly to the seventh.

Original lyrics

Other versions
Another verse was first recorded in Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Three verses were sung by Tom.Stowe, p. 417. He sings the sixth and fifth verses in that order, and Stowe included another verse, not written by Newton, that had been passed down orally in African-American communities and churches:

Recorded versions
The U.S. Library of Congress has a collection of 3,000 versions of and songs inspired by "Amazing Grace". More contemporary versions 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), Amazing Rhythm Aces (1975), Willie Nelson (1976) and the Lemonheads (1992).Amazing Grace: Special Presentation: Amazing Grace Timeline United States Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 November 2008.

Impact
With the message that forgiveness and redemption, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognisable songs in the English-speaking world. American historian Gilbert Chase said that it is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns".Chase, p. 181. Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that the song is performed about 10 million times annually.Aitken, p. 224.

Since 1954, when an organ instrumental of "New Britain" became a best-seller, "Amazing Grace" has been associated with funerals and memorial services.Turner, p. 159.

References

Category:Christian hymns
Category:18th-century British poems
Category:1772
Category:1770s works