And Can It Be
"And Can It Be That I Should Gain?" is a Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley. Diarmaid MacCulloch suggests that the hymn is one of the best-loved of Wesley's six thousand hymns. It is also the source for the 2003 song "You Are My King " which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian songs chart.
"And Can It Be" was written in 1738 to celebrate Wesley's conversion, which he regarded as having taken place on 21 May of that year. The lines "My chains fell off, my heart was free/I rose, went forth, and followed thee" are based on the story of the Liberation of Saint Peter in the New Testament.
