Funeral reading
Amazing Grace
John Newton, 1779
“Amazing Grace” by John Newton, 1779 is a hymn read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by everyone together. It is in the public domain, and the opening verse is printed on this page — the rest is in the hymn book the venue sings from.
The opening verse
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound!) That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found,— Was blind, but now I see.
Public domain, so this verse can be printed in a script or an order of service. The rest of the hymn is in the book the venue sings from — printing a full hymn text is a separate permission from singing it.
What it is about
The one a room full of people who never sing will still sing.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: the best-known hymn · everyone can sing it · bagpipes · a graveside · comfort.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Amazing Grace” take to read aloud?
“Amazing Grace” takes about 4 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Amazing Grace”?
Everyone together, rather than one reader. “Amazing Grace” runs about 4 minutes and needs the words in front of the room — in an order of service, on a screen, or led line by line by the officiant.
Can “Amazing Grace” be printed in a ceremony script?
The opening verse is on this page and is public domain, so it can be printed. For the rest, use the hymn book or order of service the venue sings from — printing a full hymn text is a separate permission from singing it.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- Abide With Me4 minutesHenry Francis Lyte, 1847
- What a Friend We Have in Jesus4 minutesJoseph Scriven, 1855
- The Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)4 minutesScottish Psalter, 1650
- How Great Thou Art5 minutesStuart K. Hine (English text, 1949)
- It Is Well With My Soul4 minutesHoratio Spafford, 1873
- In the Garden4 minutesC. Austin Miles, 1912