# When did they change the second line of Amazing Grace? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643 "2012-12-10T21:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/1 "2012-12-10T21:50:46Z")
So there I was at my niece’s funeral and “Amazing Grace” was sung. I was following along in the songbook and in my head (because I don’t sing) and I noticed the second line was different than the song I grew up with. I know: “That saved a wretch like me.” This was: “That saved and strengthened me.” I haven’t been to church in many, many years but when did that line get changed? It was a Catholic church and songbook. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/2 "2012-12-10T21:59:02Z")
I haven’t heard that particular re-wording before (which does change the meaning of the song), but a few years ago we had [this discussion](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396841) of the “wretch” line. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/3 "2012-12-10T22:06:01Z")
I’ve never heard it sung any way other than the original way. You said this was a Catholic church - Amazing Grace the hymn was written by an Anglican priest and thus may be considered to have unacceptable Protestant doctrine in it. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/4 "2012-12-10T22:13:45Z")
I’ve sung Amazing Grace in any number of catholic churches and it’s been the wretch line every time. I can only assume whoever put together the arrangement was tired of the ‘sick soul’ philosophy so often prevalent in christian songs. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/5 "2012-12-10T23:06:56Z")
I heard/saw it changed to something like “…that saved and set me free” when my grandmother’s (Catholic) church got new hymnals maybe 15 years ago or so. When we picked out the music for her funeral my mother specified that she wanted Amazing Grace “with ‘wretch,’” instead of the new namby-pamby feel-good lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/6 "2012-12-10T23:26:30Z")
Did you know you can sing the words of “Amazing Grace” to the music from the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song? And vice versa. Give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/7 "2012-12-10T23:30:31Z")
Maybe this is a good sign that the Catholic church is about to dump that whole “original sin” thing. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/8 "2012-12-10T23:35:32Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Maybe this is a good sign that the Catholic church is about to dump that whole “original sin” thing. Yeah, maybe Catholics have had enough of all that Christianity shit. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/9 "2012-12-10T23:38:26Z")
I’m Catholic, and it’s wretch in our church. And I’m unchristian enough when I see something different somewhere, to sing wretch anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/10 "2012-12-10T23:54:26Z")
The only hymn I remember fondly from my 1960’s Catholic childhood, standing out from the trendy, lame folk songs of that era, was an classy old hymn whose lyrics described you performing the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy. The end refrain was your payoff for all that effort: “Now enter into the house of my Father.” Years later, I learned the tune for this was the hymn [Praise to The Lord, the Almighty](http://youtu.be/HNOX3ha5lL0), a _Calvinist_ hymn. Calvinists, of course, reject the belief that good works alone (or at all) ensure salvation. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/11 "2012-12-11T00:14:54Z")
Moved from General Questions to Cafe Society **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/12 "2012-12-11T00:15:56Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Did you know you can sing the words of “Amazing Grace” to the music from the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song? And vice versa. > > Give it a try. Well, I’ll be damned. 😃 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_sXJCe7IlUI/maxresdefault.jpg "Amazing Gilligan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sXJCe7IlUI) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/13 "2012-12-11T01:56:01Z")
I’ve only heard “wretch” and nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/14 "2012-12-11T02:15:06Z")
Paul Robeson recorded “Amazing Grace” in 1959, and sang that line as _“that saved a soul like me…”_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/15 "2012-12-11T02:55:56Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Yeah, maybe Catholics have had enough of all that Christianity shit. :rolleyes: If only. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/16 "2012-12-11T03:17:55Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Paul Robeson recorded “Amazing Grace” in 1959, and sang that line as _“that saved a soul like me…”_. Yeah, but he’s the guy who wouldn’t sing “I’m tired of living but scared of dying” in “Old Man River.” A bit too fussy for me ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/17 "2012-12-11T03:39:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Did you know you can sing the words of “Amazing Grace” to the music from the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song? And vice versa. > > Give it a try. I prefer singing “The Marines’ Hymn” (“From the halls of Montezuma…”) to the _Gilligan’s Island_ tune. Back when I was in high school, -mumble- years ago, we used to sing Amazing Grace" to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun.” The above tunes also work well with “Clementine” and the “Ode to Joy”… ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/18 "2012-12-11T04:02:02Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > I prefer singing “The Marines’ Hymn” (“From the halls of Montezuma…”) to the _Gilligan’s Island_ tune. > > Back when I was in high school, -mumble- years ago, we used to sing Amazing Grace" to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun.” > > The above tunes also work well with “Clementine” and the “Ode to Joy”… You’ve got to hear the [Blind Boys of Alabama doing “Amazing Grace”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3__WmcmY1o) to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun.” And ever since I heard Garrison Keillor doing “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “The Mickey Mouse March” (“Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me” replaced by “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me”), I can’t do the real tune any more. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/19 "2012-12-11T04:03:12Z")
Hmm, so they’ve changed it twice now. The original second line was “that save a worm like me”. [Cite](http://www.bible-basics-layers-of-understanding.com/Amazing-Grace.html) I have only ever heard it sung “saved a wretch like me”. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643/20 "2012-12-11T04:07:30Z")
Speaking for the wretches of the world, I object! Is nothing sacred? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-they-change-the-second-line-of-amazing-grace/643643.md?page=2)