“It Really Is Amazing Grace” by Phil Wickham and Crowder is a fresh expression of a hymn many of us have known for most of our lives. The song opens with the first verse of the original hymn, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,” settling the listener into something familiar before moving into the chorus with added lyrics. From the beginning, it feels clear that this is not an attempt to replace the hymn, but to carry it forward.

Amazing Grace is over 250 years old, yet it still holds weight. Phil Wickham shared on Instagram how this hymn has stayed with him through different seasons of life. He has sung it when people prayed to receive Jesus, at funerals, and in quiet moments when he became aware of his own need for forgiveness and grace. After all those experiences, his conclusion is simple. It still hits hard.

That history is what makes this version work. Instead of staying in a hymnal or reflective space, the song leans into a rock-driven worship sound with energy and movement, what Phil describes as a praise-party chorus. The added lyrics do not take anything away from the hymn. They sit alongside it naturally, giving expression to the same message that has carried people through salvation moments, grief, celebration, and personal reflection. Old words, new sound, same truth.
Crowder comes in with the second stanza of the hymn, “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear…,” bringing the song back to its roots before it moves again into the added lyrics. That shift feels intentional. It allows the song to move back and forth between where it came from and where it is now, without losing its cent

The refrain is where everything opens up. It is joyful, loud, and free. Lines about chains breaking and dancing on the grave turn grace into something you respond to, not just something you think about. It feels like release, not reflection.

What stands out most is intention. This does not feel like a song made to sound modern for the sake of it. It feels like someone who has lived with these words for years and decided to express them honestly, in the sound and language of now.

“It Really Is Amazing Grace” is a reminder that some songs do not grow old. They simply find new ways to speak.