How Great Thou Art From Billy Graham to Elvis Presley, the history of one of the world’s greatest hymns By Emily Liz Helgersen One of the most popular hymns of all times is “How Great Thou Art.” Over the years, it has been played at weddings, funerals and ordinary church services; at out-of-church religious occasions; and soon on an upcoming TV talent show in the United States. Numerous professional artists have recorded it. Yet few people who know and love the song are aware of its history. The story of “How Great Thou Art” began in Sweden with a man by the name of Carl Gustaf Boberg. Born in 1859 in the Swedish city of Monsteras, Boberg was a Lutheran pastor, a poet, and the editor of a local newspaper. Sources say he was inspired to write a poem entitled “O Store Gud” (Swedish for “O Great God;” “store” = “great” and “Gud” = “God”) when he witnessed a thunderstorm and was struck by the beauty and grandeur of Creation. The words of “O Store Gud” were later set to the tune of a Swedish folk song of unknown authorship. The lyrics of “O Store Gud” were eventually translated into German and from there into Russian. The Russian version was discovered by a British Methodist missionary in Ukraine, Stuart Hine, who translated the song into English and gave it the title “How Great Thou Art.” The hymn has since appeared in many other languages as well, including Portuguese, Spanish and Korean. _____________________ None other than the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, recorded “How Great Thou Art” on an album of the same name. _____________________ “How Great Thou Art” became famous in the English-speaking world, though, when it was heard at American evangelist Billy Graham’s crusades. Here the performer in question was Canadian gospel singer George Beverly Shea (still alive today at 97). From there the song took its place as one of the best-loved hymns in America. In addition, while “How Great Thou Art” started out in the Lutheran Church, it has found its way into the hymnals of a plethora of other Christian denominations, like the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and other Churches. Outside the church and revival tent, a number of professional musicians have produced their own version of “How Great Thou Art.” As should be expected, it has been a favourite of gospel singers. The great African-American performers Mahalia Jackson and Lou Rawls covered it, for example. However, the hymn has also been sung by artists whose music is not generally considered religious. None other than the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, recorded “How Great Thou Art” on an album of the same name which won a Grammy award. Elvis’ interest in the song may have stemmed from his fascination with ethnic music, like the piece “It’s Now or Never” from the Neapolitan ballad “O Sole Mio.” More recently, country star Alan Jackson came out with a rendition of “How Great Thou Art” on the album Precious Memories. In its latest incarnation, the hymn is expected to make an appearance on Gifted, an American Idol-style talent show featuring Christian music – so stay tuned! “How Great Thou Art” is one of those rare songs that has crossed the barriers of religious denomination, nationality, race and musical genre. Nonetheless, as a person of Scandinavian descent, I must admit to a certain satisfaction at the thought that it was “ours” first. But now “How Great Thou Art” belongs to everyone, and for this I am glad. Thank you to Frank MacLeod and Kent Jonsson for assistance with this article. This article first appeared in the Trinity Times, the newsletter of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (www.geocities.com/trinitytoronto) in Toronto. Emily Liz Helgersen is a secretary and musician based in Canada. When she’s not busy with her job, social activities and hobbies, she likes to write about religion, music, culture or anything else that happens to strike her fancy. In this picture here she’s trying to look composed despite the fact her brother is pinching her arm. You can contact her at ehelgersen@hotmail.com This website: Copyright © 2006 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.