Amazing Grace

During the Covid19 "Lockdowns" in 2020 & 2021, I uploaded a number of little videos to Facebook. Most were to entertain people, generally. This is one of those from my “Religious” repertoire. “Amazing Grace” was a really popular song in the 1960s/70s – made a hit by Joan Baez. It was written in 1772 (its 250th Anniversary was celebrated last year) by a former – very unreligious – sailor, John Newton, who converted to active Christianity and was ordained. Wikipedia shows six verses but there have been others added – it has become like a folk song. On 23rd June 1973, I had the amazing privilege of being part of the “warm up act” to keep the waiting congregation appropriately occupied in Ely Cathedral, before the start of the Cathedral’s 13th Centenary Celebration service. Shortly before the start of the service, I sang this song to a full cathedral – “a capella” – as I do here.