There Is a Fountain William Cowper, 1772
4 verses, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains,
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Verse 2. The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Washed all my sins away,
Washed all my sins away,
Washed all my sins away,
And there have I, as vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
Verse 3. Thou dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more:
Be saved to sin no more,
Be saved to sin no more,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more.
Verse 4. E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
Words copied from New Baptist Hymnal (1926). They were published in 1772, 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.
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The story behind There Is a Fountain
William Cowper wrote this hymn, probably in 1771. It first appeared in print in 1772 in Richard Conyers's Collection of Psalms and Hymns, without an author's name. In 1779 Cowper and John Newton included it in Olney Hymns under the heading "Praise for the fountain opened," with Zechariah 13:1 as the text. Cowper lived in Olney, England, where Newton, the author of "Amazing Grace," served as vicar. Cowper struggled with deep depression through much of his life.
Zechariah 13:1 speaks of a fountain opened to cleanse sin. The verse does not mention blood. Cowper read the blood of Christ into the image, and the hymn has drawn both criticism and love for that reading. Later editors tried to soften it. James Montgomery rewrote the hymn in 1819, and that version saw little use. The scholar Moffatt gave the verdict that the hymn must be taken as Cowper wrote it, or not at all.
The tune most congregations sing is COWPER, also called FOUNTAIN, by Lowell Mason. It was first printed in 1831 in Spiritual Songs No. 1. In 1865 the book Hallowed Songs extended Mason's tune to eight phrases and added a camp-meeting refrain. The Hymnology Archive calls that setting, named CLEANSING FOUNTAIN, the most popular one today.
William Cowper
1731-11-26 to 1800-04-25
William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) was born in Great Berkhampstead, England. He trained as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1754 but never practiced. A panic before a job interview in 1763 led to deep depression and a stay in a hospital in St. Albans. He later moved to Olney, where John Newton was vicar, and the two produced Olney Hymns in 1779. Cowper wrote "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" and "God Moves in a Mysterious Way," and a well-received secular poem, The Task. He struggled with depression for much of his life and died on April 25, 1800.
Lowell Mason
1792-01-08 to 1872-08-11
Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Massachusetts, on January 8, 1792. He worked as a bank clerk in Savannah, Georgia, before turning to music. His first major collection of church music came out in 1822 through the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and he became the society's president and conductor in 1827. He moved to Boston in 1826 and founded the Boston Academy of Music. Hymnary calls him the father of American church music. He left Boston for New York in 1851 and died on August 11, 1872, at his home on Orange Mountain, New Jersey. He left his music library to Yale College.
- Discipleship Ministries: History of Hymns, There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnology Archive: There is a fountain filled with blood , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org: COWPER (Mason) , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in There Is a Fountain
The Bible passages behind the words, with the verse of the hymn that draws on each.
- Zechariah 13:1 In verse 1 of the hymn
There Is a Fountain videos
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There Is a Fountain Congregational Hymn Temple Baptist Church, Congregation
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There Is a Fountain Grace Community Church, Congregation
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There is a Fountain | Steps To Christ Fountainview Academy Orchestra & Singers, Choir
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There Is A Fountain - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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There is a Fountain Filled With Blood - piano instrumental hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Shane & Shane: There Is A Fountain (Full of Love) Shane and Shane, Modern arrangement
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Print and project
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in D or E♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood?
William Cowper wrote the words, probably in 1771. Richard Conyers printed them in 1772, and Cowper and John Newton included them in Olney Hymns in 1779.
What Bible verse is behind the hymn?
Olney Hymns heads it with Zechariah 13:1, which speaks of a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. Cowper added the image of the blood of Christ.
Who composed the tune?
Lowell Mason wrote COWPER, also called FOUNTAIN, first printed in 1831. The refrain version most Baptists sing, CLEANSING FOUNTAIN, adds a camp-meeting refrain from Hallowed Songs (1865).
Is There Is a Fountain in the public domain?
Yes. The words are public domain in the United States, first published in 1772. Mason's tune and the 1865 refrain setting are public domain too.
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