You’ve heard it. You’ve probably sung it. Maybe it was at a funeral, or maybe it was Elvis Presley belting it out with a full choir behind him in 1967. How Great Thou Art is everywhere. It’s the kind of song that feels like it’s been around since the dawn of time, carved into the very rocks it describes. But honestly? The history of this hymn is a total mess of translations, a literal lightning storm, and a series of coincidences that shouldn't have happened. It wasn’t written by some famous composer in a cathedral. It started with a grumpy Swedish politician named Carl Boberg who just happened to get caught in a terrifying afternoon squall.
Most people think of it as an American Southern Gospel staple. It isn't. Not even close.
It’s actually a travelogue. It’s a poem that trekked across three continents and four languages before it ever hit a Billy Graham Crusade. If Boberg hadn't looked out his window in 1885 and seen the Swedish countryside getting absolutely hammered by thunder and rain, we wouldn't have the song. He wrote a poem called O Store Gud. He didn't even think it was a song. He just saw the sun come out after the storm, heard the church bells ringing in the distance, and felt something.
The Lightning Strike That Started It All
Carl Boberg was 26. He was walking home from church in Mönsterås, Sweden. Suddenly, a storm cracked the sky open. We aren't talking about a light drizzle. We are talking about the kind of "rolling thunder" the lyrics actually describe—a violent, mid-summer Scandinavian tempest.
Boberg watched the bay of Kalmar reflect the flashes. He heard the wind howl through the trees. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. The rainbow appeared. The birds started chirping. It was that specific, visceral contrast between the "awesome wonder" of the storm and the peace of the aftermath that forced him to write. He published it in a local newspaper. Then? Nothing happened. For years, it was just a local poem.
Eventually, someone set it to an old Swedish folk melody. That’s the tune we know today. But it was stuck in Sweden. It needed a way out.
Why How Great Thou Art Almost Never Left Europe
The song’s journey to the English-speaking world is basically a game of international telephone. First, a man named Manfred von Glehn translated it into German (Wie groß bist Du). Then, Ivan Prokhanov, who is often called the "Martin Luther of Russia," got his hands on it. He translated the German version into Russian.
Think about that for a second.
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A Swedish poem, turned into a German song, then turned into a Russian hymn. Each time it moved, it changed a little. The Russian version became incredibly popular in the Soviet era, used as a source of strength for persecuted Christians. This is where Stuart Hine enters the picture.
Hine was a British missionary working in Ukraine in the 1930s. He heard the Russian version being sung in the Carpathian Mountains. He didn’t just translate it; he reimagined it. While he was hiking near the Polish border, he encountered a massive thunderstorm. Sound familiar? He took Boberg’s original "storm" inspiration and combined it with his own experience in the mountains.
He wrote the first three verses based on his travels through Eastern Europe. But the fourth verse—the one about "When Christ shall come"—wasn't written until 1948, back in Britain. He wrote it to comfort Polish refugees who were displaced after World War II, wondering when they would finally go "home." That’s why the song hits so hard. It wasn't written in a vacuum. It was written by people who were looking at the world falling apart and trying to find something steady.
The Billy Graham Effect and the Elvis Turn
If you grew up in the 50s or 60s, you know this song because of George Beverly Shea. He was the baritone soloist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team. In 1957, during the famous Madison Square Garden Crusade in New York, Shea sang How Great Thou Art.
The crowd went nuts.
They had to sing it every night for weeks. It was the "breakout hit" of the crusade. This is where the song transitioned from a missionary hymn to a global phenomenon. It’s also where the copyright gets complicated. Because Hine had modernized and copyrighted his specific English version, it became a massive publishing asset.
Then came Elvis.
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Elvis Presley loved this song. He used it as the title track for his 1967 gospel album. He didn't just sing it; he used it to prove he still had his vocal chops. His version won him a Grammy. It’s a powerhouse performance because Elvis understood the dynamics. You start quiet. You build. You end with a roar. That’s the secret sauce of the song’s structure. It mimics the storm Boberg saw in 1885.
Why the Lyrics Actually Work (A Brief Technical Glance)
From a songwriting perspective, How Great Thou Art is a masterclass in tension and release.
- Verse 1: Establishes the physical world. The "stars," the "rolling thunder." It’s external.
- Verse 2: Moves to the forest and the birds. It’s intimate and sensory.
- Verse 3: Shifts to the theological. This is the "meat" of the hymn.
- Verse 4: Looks to the future. It’s the resolution.
The chorus is what does the heavy lifting. The repetition of "Then sings my soul" is a physical act. When a congregation sings that, they have to breathe deep. They have to commit. It’s one of the few songs where the volume naturally doubles every time the hook hits.
Common Misconceptions About the Song
People get a lot wrong about this hymn. First off, it’s not an "ancient" hymn. It’s relatively modern compared to things like Amazing Grace (which is over 250 years old).
Secondly, many people think it’s a translation of a Latin text. Nope. It’s purely 19th-century Swedish romanticism mixed with 20th-century British missionary zeal. There’s also a common myth that the song was written in the wake of a shipwreck. While Boberg was near the water, there was no tragedy. It was just a really, really loud afternoon.
Another weird fact? The song was actually rejected by several hymnal committees in the mid-20th century because it was seen as too "emotional" or "theatrical." Traditionalists didn't like the way it demanded such a big, dramatic vocal performance. They thought it was a bit much. They were wrong.
How to Experience the Song Today
If you want to actually understand why How Great Thou Art persists, you have to look beyond the sheet music.
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- Listen to the 1957 Madison Square Garden recording. You can hear the raw, crackling energy of a room full of thousands of people losing their minds over a song they had mostly never heard before.
- Check out Carrie Underwood’s 2011 performance. It’s widely considered one of the best modern renditions. She treats it like a stadium rock ballad, which, if we’re being honest, is exactly what it is.
- Read the original Swedish poem. If you use a translator, you’ll see that Boberg’s imagery was even more vivid. He talked about "the rustle of the leaves" and "the sound of the bells" in a way that feels very specific to a small Swedish village.
Actionable Insights for Using the Hymn
Whether you’re a worship leader, a musician, or just someone who appreciates the history of music, there are ways to approach this song that respect its messy, multi-national history.
Vary the Dynamics
Don't start at a ten. The whole point of the song is the build-up. Boberg’s storm started with a breeze before the thunder. Start the first verse with minimal accompaniment—maybe just a piano or a single guitar—and save the "big" sound for the final chorus.
Contextualize the "Home" Verse
When you get to the fourth verse, remember Stuart Hine writing it for refugees who had lost everything in Poland and Ukraine. It’s not just a song about "going to heaven." It’s a song about the longing for a place where there is no more war. Singing it with that weight changes the vibe entirely.
Don't Rush the Tempo
The biggest mistake people make is turning it into a march. It’s a ballad. It needs room to breathe. The "rolling thunder" needs to feel heavy, not fast.
Acknowledge the Global Roots
If you’re presenting this song, mention it’s Swedish. Mention the Russian connection. In a world that feels very divided, there’s something cool about the fact that the most famous "American" hymn is actually a collaborative effort between a Swede, a German, a Russian, and an Englishman.
The enduring power of How Great Thou Art isn't just in the melody. It’s in the fact that it acknowledges that the world is huge, scary, and loud—like a lightning storm—but that there is still something worth singing about once the clouds break. It's a song about survival as much as it is about praise.
Next time you hear those opening chords, remember the kid in Sweden walking home from church, terrified by the thunder, having no idea he was about to write something that would be sung by billions of people a century later.