How Great Thou Art

For other uses, see How Great Thou Art (disambiguation).
How Great Thou Art
KeyA Major
GenreHymn
Written1885
TextCarl Boberg
LanguageSwedish
Based onPsalm 8
Meter11.10.11.10 with refrain
MelodyHow Great Thou Art
Audio sample
MIDI audio sample

"How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn entitled "O Store Gud" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). The English version of the hymn and its title are a loose translation by the English missionary Stuart K. Hine from 1949. The hymn was popularised by George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows during Billy Graham's crusades.[1] It was voted the British public's favourite hymn by BBC's Songs of Praise.[2] "How Great Thou Art" was ranked second (after "Amazing Grace") on a list of the favourite hymns of all time in a survey by Christianity Today magazine in 2001 and in a nationwide poll by Songs Of Praise in 2019.[3]

  1. ^ Kurian, G. T. (2001). Nelson's new Christian dictionary: The authoritative resource on the Christian world. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
  2. ^ Bradley, Ian (2000), "All Things That Give Sound", in Chadwick, Henry (ed.), Not Angels, But Anglicans: A History of Christianity in the British Isles, Norwich: Canterbury Press, p. 208.
  3. ^ Steffen, Bonne (September–October 2001), "The Ten Best Worship Songs", Today's Christian, retrieved 2 February 2008.