I started writing songs in earnest when the governor of Illinois closed down churches and small businesses. The stress and pressure of the lockdowns and the ruination of the lives people had built for themselves overwhelmed me.
Writing a song transported me to another place and time. It was therapy. And it released lots of endorphins, especially if I wrote a song that I particularly liked!

The Covid years have been difficult for us and, really, not because of Covid. Honestly, Covid was more of a distraction, compared to everything else that was going on. One of the major things that happened was, our 9-month-old granddaughter was taken into custody by DCFS and placed in foster care. For the next 2 years, which largely coincided with Covid, we fought to gain custody of our little grandie. Praise, God, we now have her in our home and will adopt her in the spring.

Recently, I was reflecting on the past 2 years and another song came flowing out of my heart. After I wrote it, I couldn’t sing it without crying. Happy to say, I’ve gotten past the crying part! This is my version of Amazing Grace and it’s also my testimony. Capo it on the 3rd fret (Bb major). I’ll just give you the chorus and verse 1.

The title picture is a very crude image of the melody from the chorus.

The words of this version of Amazing Grace reflect the 2 year journey we have been on, especially the words, “I’ve been afraid, but now have peace. He has given me sweet release.” Yes He has. Praise the Lord!