The melody is attributed to The Baptist Hymnal in The Southern Harmony and to Columbian Harmony, 1829 in The Sacred Harp. Some sources maintain that it first appeared in The Southern Harmony. It seems, by its structure to be an American folk melody. The lyrics are by John Newton. Newton did not assign a particular melody to his poem which, according to the practice of his day, was printed without music. The story that Newton acquired the melody by listening to slaves being transported on a ship which he commanded is not true. The coincidence that the melody can be played on only the black keys of the piano is only due to it being set in a pentatonic mode with no fourth or seventh notes in the scale. In 1767 William Cowper, the poet, moved to Olney. He worshipped in Newton's church and collaborated with the priest on a volume of hymns; it was published as Olney Hymns in 1779. This work had a great influence on English hymnology. The volume included Newton's well-known hymns: "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken", "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds!" and "Faith's Review and Expectation" which has come to be known by its opening phrase "Amazing Grace". There is no evidence to show that either Newton or Cowper wrote any music to accompany the hymns. It is assumed that they were initially sung to any suitable tune that fitted the meter (rhythm), most probably to 16th or 17th century metrical psalm tunes.