“How Great Thou Art” was written as a poem in the late 18oo’s. A young Swedish preacher was inspired as he walked home from church one afternoon.
Carl Boberg was struck by how rapidly a thunderous storm appeared. It rained for just a short time, followed by a breathtaking rainbow.
That night he wrote the words. The original sown was called ‘O Store Gud’ which basically translated to ‘O Great God’ in English.
Through the years, the song, which was sung with the melody of a Swedish folk song, was translated into several languages. In the early 20’s, Mr and Mrs. Stuart Hine were English missionaries that moved to Poland. Stuart heard the song and later translated it into English. This is the version we know as ‘How Great Thou Art.’
Today, there are over 1700 recordings of this song! It’s is said to be the #1 favorite hymn in polls conducted in the US and in Britain. I’m certain that Mr. Boberg would be shocked to find that his inspired poem was translated and loved by so many Christians all over the world!
I’m currently filming a couple arrangements of this beautiful hymn.
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