Amazing Grace John Newton, 1779
4 verses, sung to New Britain (C.M.), public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. 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.
Verse 2. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved:
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
Verse 3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
Verse 4. The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1779, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
The hymn library's slide and print features are made by Church Posting.
The story behind Amazing Grace
John Newton wrote the words for a New Year's Day sermon at Olney, England, in 1773. His sermon text was 1 Chronicles 17:16-17, where David asks who he is that God has brought him so far. Newton and the poet William Cowper printed the poem in Olney Hymns in 1779 under the title "Faith's Review and Expectation." It had six stanzas and no music.
Newton had worked in the slave trade and survived a near drowning in 1748. He left the trade in 1754, was ordained in the Church of England, and later worked with William Wilberforce against slavery.
The tune came decades later. NEW BRITAIN is an American folk melody. An early form of it appears in Columbian Harmony (1829) and Virginia Harmony (1831), both with words by Isaac Watts. The first printing of the tune with Newton's text is William Walker's Southern Harmony in 1835. Edwin O. Excell made the harmony most hymnals print, in a book from 1900.
The closing stanza about ten thousand years is not Newton's. Sources disagree about it. Hymnary.org calls it anonymous and traces it to A Collection of Sacred Ballads (1790). The Hymnology Archive follows a root stanza back to Elhanan Winchester in 1784. It says the stanza first joined the hymn in a hymnal in 1909, in World Renowned Hymns, while Hymnary.org names Excell's Coronation Hymns of 1910.
John Newton
1725-07-24 to 1807-12-21
John Newton was born in London and went to sea at eleven with his father, a ship captain. He later worked in the slave trade and commanded a slave ship. A near drowning in 1748 began his conversion to Christ, and he left the trade in 1754. The Church of England ordained him, and he served as curate at Olney from 1764 to 1780 and then as rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London until his death. He became an abolitionist and worked with William Wilberforce. With the poet William Cowper he produced Olney Hymns in 1779, which included Amazing Grace.
- Hymnary.org, Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnology Archive, Amazing grace , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, John Newton , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Psalter Hymnal 462 (tune, key) , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Amazing Grace
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Ephesians 2:8
- John 9:25
- Psalm 142:5
- 1 Chronicles 17:16-17
- Ephesians 1:3-14
Amazing Grace videos
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Amazing Grace • Congregational Daniel Baptist, Congregation
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Amazing Grace - Congregational Singing at the First Baptist Church in Dallas Todd W. White, Congregation
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Amazing Grace | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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Amazing Grace (7 Verses) - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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Amazing Grace - piano hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) Chris Tomlin, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 90 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 82 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 47 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 1 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
For Sunday
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in G.
Questions people ask
When was Amazing Grace written?
John Newton probably wrote it for a sermon on New Year's Day 1773 at Olney. It was first printed in Olney Hymns in 1779.
What tune is Amazing Grace sung to?
Most churches sing it to NEW BRITAIN, an American folk tune. Its first known printing with Newton's words is William Walker's Southern Harmony in 1835.
What Bible verse is Amazing Grace from?
Newton wrote it for a sermon on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. Hymnary.org also lists Ephesians 2:8 and John 9:25 for the first stanza and Ephesians 1:3-14 for the whole hymn.
Is Amazing Grace in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Newton's text was first published in 1779. The NEW BRITAIN tune dates to the early 1800s and Excell's harmony to 1900, so both are also older than 1931.
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