WHAT I HAVE DONE (2011)
(AMAZING GRACE/HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN)

SATB a cappella, T or B soli
Commissioned by the New Richmond High School Kammerchor

Sacred/Folk

Sacred/Folk

Choral score

$1.60 per copy (you are buying a digital license)

Note:

“What I Have Done” combines the two well known songs ”Amazing Grace” and “House of the Rising Sun” into one stirring piece. A mixture of the two melodies and alternating stanzas of each lyric, the narrative tells of a man overcoming his life of sin by finding grace.


Text:

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.

Well, there is a house in New Orleans,
They call the Rising Sun,
And it’s been thae ruin of many a poor boy,
And God I know I’m one.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done,
Dont spend your lives in sin and misery,
In the House of the Rising Sun.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

- John Newton, “Amazing Grace”
- Traditional, “House of the Rising Sun”