It's funny I should read Buck's comment today. I was just reading the words to this song as the cd was playing, and at the end of the words, Chris Tomlin says: "I was doing some research on John Newton and the writing of the hymn, "Amazing Grace. " John Newton wrote these lyrics as a poem for a sermon describing what God had done for him; that God has not only saved his soul, but also saved him from slave trading. That inspired me to write the simple refrain, "my chains are gone. . " I also found it interesting that the familiar last verse, "when we've been there ten thousand years, " was not in the original, but added years later by another author. I have included in this version Newton's original last verse. Chris Tomlin So, it seems someone else took liberties with this song many, many years ago.