It’s probably fair to say that Amazing Grace is one of the most recognisable hymns in the world. I recently spotted the song in a hymn book while visiting a university in South Sudan. And a few weeks ago, I heard it performed with a saxophone coda by Steve Gregory (of Careless Whisper fame).
However, the chequered history of the ubiquitous hymn (John Newton’s original poem is now 250 years old) is less known. For example, the tune you probably now have in your head (New Britain) was only married to the words some 63 years after the verses were written. And the final verse (‘When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun…’) wasn’t even written by Newton, it was added much later, taken from an African-American spiritual, Jerusalem, My Happy Home.
While the song has a surprising story, John Newton has a much more chequered history. He was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and is celebrated—alongside William Wilberforce—as a slavery abolitionist. But his history is more complex than that. Before he joined the anti-slavery cause, Newton had captained slave ships and was an investor in the slave trade. It’s not clear what his views about the slave trade were when he wrote Amazing Grace.
This dichotomy is at the heart of Grace Will Lead Me Home, an album that’s part of a wider Arts Council-funded project from Invisible Folk in partnership with the Cowper and Newton Museum. The press for ‘Grace Will Lead Me Home’ explains how the project “explores the love that people have for Amazing Grace, including those who are descended from the slaves that Newton shipped across the Atlantic. Interviews covering every aspect of Newton’s life, the slave trade and the evolution of the beloved hymn were undertaken (including Judy Collins), and these can be found in a series of podcasts. Cohen and Angeline were invited to join the project, review the research, meet the folks at the museum and write new songs.”
Guitarist and singer Jon Bickley is one of the driving forces behind Invisible Folk, which produces films, plays, podcasts, concerts, and music about folk music, poetry, and heritage subjects.
To explore the dilemmas and controversies around the hymn, Jon invited singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Angeline Morrison and singer, concertina and melodeon player Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (Granny’s Attic) to be part of the album. Both of whom have previously tackled issues of race and diversity (and its absence) in British Folk Music, Angeline in her albums The Brown Girl and Other Folk Songs, and The Sorrow Songs and Cohen in his own work and as part of Reg Meuross’ Stolen from God album.
It’s a challenging but rewarding collection. Angeline’s euphonious singing is contrasted with Jon’s more earthy tones, while Cohen’s instrumental virtuosity is matched by Jon’s primal, driving guitar style. This reflects the themes of the album and the complex life of John Newton and his most famous work, which is accepted as a universal hymn in both sacred and secular circles (and everywhere in between) despite the shady history of its scribe.
Each of the performer’s songwriting talents is to the fore. Cohen’s Press Gang Song profoundly explores the brutality and inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade. Angeline’s songwriting shines on the disarmingly poppy Turn Round Newton and brings a doo-wop flavour to the title track, performed with a children’s choir in the Cowper and Newton Museum courtyard. Meanwhile, Jon’s menacing I’m Going To Hear John Newton Preach, which recounts the journey of Newton from slave trader to preacher and abolitionist, sounds delightful, like Tom Robinson singing folk rock.
Despite Grace Will Lead Me Home exploring the life and impact of a man born nearly 300 years ago, its themes are remarkably relevant today. How do we face up, as a nation, to our culture and wealth, much of which is built on the torture and deaths of so many forced into slavery? Is there such a thing as ‘grace’, and do we accept repentance and the ability for people to change in this age of ‘cancel culture’? Can we go on innocently singing Amazing Grace without appreciating its complex history? This fine album doesn’t answer those questions, but it does place them to the fore.
Grace Will Lead Me Home is released on 17th May and will be available to pre-order soon via Bandcamp: https://angelinecohenjon.bandcamp.com/
More: https://invisiblefolk.com/grace-will-lead-me-home