An introduction to the anniversary celebrations
By Dan Evans
The words to “Amazing Grace” were written by John Newton in the small market town of Olney in north Buckinghamshire, England, where I have lived with my wife Mary for the past 28 years. For this reason, I often start my concerts with “Amazing Grace,” usually as an instrumental air. Although the lyrics are credited to Newton alone, he collaborated with local poet William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) to write a collection of church songs, known as the
“Olney Hymns.”
The remarkable story (in a brief nutshell) goes that English-born Newton became ill in Sierra Leone on the west coast of Africa and was cared for by the local people. Later, he worked on the slave-ships which transported millions of black Africans from Sierra Leone to the Caribbean, to work in the cotton fields and sugar plantations. (I am sparing the reader details here, as the conditions on the slave ships were gruesome and cruel and many did not survive the journey). One wild night a severe storm threatened to capsize Newton’s ship and, as a consequence, he later became a “storm convertite.” Newton then regretted his former ways and became a clergyman, preaching at St. Peter and St. Paul Church here in Olney, where his pulpit can still be seen.
Visit cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk/amazing-grace-250-commemorations/ to learn more about the year of celebration and explore a virtual exhibit. Logo courtesy of the Cowper and Newton Museum.
Newton went on to support William Wilberforce to succeed in getting the abolition of slavery bill through Parliament, known as the “Slave Trade Act 1807.” 2007 saw celebrations here in Olney of the bi-centenary of the bill to abolish slavery. Ironically, I was working at the Dulcimer Chautauqua On The Wabash festival in Indiana at the time, but I was honoured to be invited to close the U.S. festival by performing “Amazing Grace” on the dulcimer. Similarly, but this time with the help of Stephen Seifert, Ted Yoder, Sarah Morgan, and Molly McCormack, we closed the same festival with “Amazing Grace” again in 2017.
Now in 2023, 250 years after the authoring of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” celebrations abound around the world, especially here in Olney, which is now known as “the home of Amazing Grace.” A new Amazing Grace Orchard has been planted this year in Olney and was formally opened on July 9 with a local choir and myself playing the dulcimer.
Dulcimer players, other musicians, and singers are invited to sing and play “Amazing Grace” wherever you live this year to commemorate its 250th anniversary.
Evans lives in Olney, England. Evans has made frequent visits to the U.S. to teach and perform at festivals and gives occasional concerts in the U.K. Be sure to visit his blog post on this topic, which includes more free dulcimer tab and links to the Cowper and Newton Museum, a repository for all things connected to the hymn: english-dulcimer.com/250-years-of-amazing-grace/.
Lyrics
- 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 first believ’d! - Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus,
And grace will lead me home. - The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures. - Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the vail,
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 for ever mine.
As printed in “Olney Hymns,” 1779.
Did you hear?
In the U.S. the melody most commonly associated with “Amazing Grace” is “New Britain,” first paired in William Walker’s “Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,” 1835.
In their article for the “Hymnology Archive,” Chris Fenner and Marylynn Rouse trace the melody’s origins to Cephas Chapin, circa 1828.
The melody appears under different titles with different words in “Columbian Harmony,” 1829, and “Virginia Harmony,” 1831.
(Left: St Peter and St Paul church tower. Photo by Dan Evans.)
Read more about “Amazing Grace” on a timeline created by the Library of Congress.