Fun with Amazing Grace

I told the choir in rehearsal last week how I had that week's choir anthem stuck in my head but couldn't remember the words. It ended up, however, that the words to "Amazing Grace" fit it perfectly.

For those of you that know about hymn tunes, each tune has a meter (it's a poetry term actually). You can look in your hymnal (if your church still has them - that's a whole other post) and at the bottom of the page you'll see some numbers. For "Amazing Grace" those numbers are 8.6.8.6. Which means the first line has eight syllables - "Amazing grace how sweet the sound" the second line has six syllables - "that saved a wretch like me" then eight - "I once was lost but now am found" and then six again - "was blind but now I see."

You'll notice something else on "Amazing Grace" the initials "C.M." which stand for "common meter." Apparently we really like the rhythm of 8.6.8.6.

So... Here's the fun part.

You can go through your hymnal and any song that has C.M. or 8.6.8.6. at the bottom of it can have the words to "Amazing Grace" sung to it.

Try "Joy to the World"

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost

but now am found

(then you have to repeat a little)

was blind but now I see,

was blind but now I see

was blind, was blind but now I see"

It will also work with "O God Our Help in Ages Past," "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" and more.

Here's a fun one (please don't tell me I'm sacrilegious) you can sing it to "The Brady Bunch" too! You have to sing two verses to get the whole Brady song tune in.

Tomorrow I'll post a couple of more fun ones.

No matter how you sing it, I hope you can sing the words from experience!

Sing!