"Amazing Grace" is a hymn written by English poet and
clergyman John Newton. With a message that forgiveness
and redemption is possible regardless of the sins
people commit 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. Newton was pressed into the
Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually
participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible
storm battered his vessel so severely that...(+)
"Amazing Grace" is a hymn written by English poet and
clergyman John Newton. With a message that forgiveness
and redemption is possible regardless of the sins
people commit 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. Newton was pressed into the
Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually
participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible
storm battered his vessel so severely that he became
frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a
moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual
conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few
years more until he quit going to sea altogether and
began studying theology. The melody of this song did
not consist by J. Newton, and the words were sung at
first on the other numerous melodies before being
definitively attached to this one. This melody is the
one of an old Irish or Scottish air. According to
certain sources, she would rather have been taken from
the very slaves, because according to certain sources,
she would be of South African origin. The success of
this negro-spiritual also provoked a revival of Amazing
Grace in the field of the Celtic music. It is one of
airs the most played the bagpipe today. (Wikipedia)
SHEET MUSIC