A first-person account of change
The hymn moves through images of loss and recovery, blindness and sight. Its language makes transformation speak in the first person.
Song · A CLOSER LOOK
Amazing Grace
ABOUT THIS SONG
A hymn of grace, recognition, and transformation, carried through many musical traditions.
A CLOSER LOOK
The story behind it.
A hymn of grace, recognition, and transformation, carried through many musical traditions.
Words and tune meet later
Newton’s text appeared before its familiar association with the tune New Britain. Later singers brought different voices and occasions to that pairing.
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Background & references (opens in a new tab)Source for Amazing Grace: Background & references.
Sources for this closer look
Background & references (opens in a new tab)Read the hymn · Wikisource (opens in a new tab)A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN
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Performance
Amazing Grace — Wintley Phipps
Wintley Phipps · Carnegie Hall
A concert performance of “Amazing Grace” with Phipps’s introduction and unhurried vocal delivery.
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Follow the original source to explore the work in its own context.
Sources & credits
Introductions are grounded in the sources below. Collection notes and reading prompts provide an editorial starting point; personal opinions are identified in the collection’s content.
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