"How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on a Swedish traditional melody and a poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden in 1885. It was translated into German and then into Russian and became a hymn. It was translated into English from the Russian by English missionary Stuart K. Hine, who also added two original verses of his own. The composition was set to a Russian melody. It was popularised by George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows during the Billy Graham crusades. It was voted the United Kingdom's favourite hymn by BBC's Songs of Praise. "How Great Thou Art" was ranked second (after "Amazing Grace") on a list of the favourite hymns of all time in a survey by Today's Christian magazine in 2001. Notably, all English versions (a Johnny Cash live performance excluded) are in a slow, partly almost reciting manner, totally different from the uptempo style of the Swedish original.

Origin

Boberg wrote the poem "O Store Gud" (O Great God) in 1885 with nine verses.