Written and published weekly by Cheryl Johnson, the Musician's Helper
Please enjoy the content and get in touch if you have questions. I'm interested in your concerns and happy to help!
Seems I’m on a roll talking about songs lately. I am refusing to jump ahead into holiday music, although it’s my favorite time of the year. My heart and soul belong to Gospel or Christian music. The bands I’ve played with have been gospel bands. Although the new songs are great, nothing moves a crowd like the old traditional hymns. According to what some researchers say, How Great Thou Art is favored second only to Amazing Grace. It’s believed that How Great Thou Art was first written as a Swedish poem in 1885 and was titled O Store Gud (Oh Great God), and had nine verses. It was translated from Swedish to German, German to Russian, was set to a Russian melody and finally translated from Russian to English by a British missionary to Russia named Stuart K. Hine. Hine composed two verses of his own when he translated the poem turned song. Carl Gustav Boberg was the author of the poem and told of what inspired its origin. He had been to an afternoon church service. Suddenly there came a storm. Lightening flashed and thunder rolled and soon rain showers began. When he finally reached his home, he opened a window toward the sea and saw the beauty of nature, heard the birds chirping and church bells ringing. It’s been said that this and Psalm 8 were his inspiration for penning the words of O Store Gud. Although the poem was written in 1885, it wasn’t until March of 1886 that Boberg published it in a newspaper. Soon the words were matched to a Swedish folk tune and were actually sung in church the first time in 1888. Eight verses appeared in the 1890 version. Boberg soon became an editor and the words and music were published in 1891. Instrumentation for both piano and guitar were then provided by Adolph Edgren, a music teacher and organist. Edgren eventually migrated to the United States. The song was originally written in ¾ time, but was changed to 4/4 time in 1894 and that is how it’s been sung ever since. The first literal translation produced all nine verses and was published in The Covenant Hymnal in 1925. There was pressure to replace the original version with Hine’s version, How Great Thou Art. After much debate and thought, economics made the decision for them and in 1973 The Covenant Hymnbook published this version of Great Thou Art. O mighty God, when I behold the wonder Of nature’s beauty, wrought by words of thine, And how thou leadest all from realms up yonder, Sustaining earthly life with love benign, Refrain: With rapture filled, my soul thy name would laud, O mighty God! O mighty God! (repeat) When I behold the heavens in their vastness, Where golden ships in azure issue forth, Where sun and moon keep watch upon the fastness Of changing seasons and of time on earth. When crushed by guilt of sin before thee kneeling, I plead for mercy and for grace and peace, I feel thy balm and, all my bruises healing, My soul is filled, my heart is set at ease. And when at last the mists of time have vanished And I in truth my faith confirmed shall see, Upon the shores where earthly ills are banished I’ll enter Lord, to dwell in peace with thee. As time progressed, the use of the archaic terminology was replaced with more modern terms and there was a third verse written for the song. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. While on the mission field, Hine heard the story of a man who was separated from his wife. He was so distraught at the thought of never seeing her in this life, but encouraged that one day in heaven they would be together. This inspired the fourth verse. When Christ shall come With shout of acclamation To take me home, What joy shall fill my heart. Then we shall bow In humble adoration and there proclaim, My God How Great Thou Art! In 1953 two optional verses were published that were also written by Hine, the British missionary... O when I see ungrateful man defiling This bounteous earth, God's gifts so good and great; In foolish pride, God's holy Name reviling, And yet, in grace, His wrath and judgment wait. When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance, Bowed down with grief, to Him I lift my face; And then in love He brings me sweet assurance: 'My child! for thee sufficient is my grace'. How Great Thou Art went on to become the theme song of the Billy Graham crusades in the 1950’s. The song didn’t really catch on until they sang it at Madison Square Garden. Then it was sung a hundred times because the people wouldn’t let them stop. Since then, many popular artists have released their version of this song. The most recent recording that flew to the top of the charts was Carrie Underwood’s version that was recorded on April 4, 2011 as a duet with Vince Gill. It was televised on April 22, 2011 and shortly after the show, it had gone to #1 in the iTunes Top Gospel Songs. As of December 2014, it had sold 599,000 digital copies and I’m sure that number had increased. Here are the lyrics to the modern day song we sing as, How Great Thou Art. Verse 1: O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder Consider all the works Thy hand hath made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Refrain: Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee: How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee: How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Verse 2: When through the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze: (Repeat Refrain.) Verse 3: And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin: (Repeat Refrain.) Verse 4: When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration, And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art! (Repeat Refrain.) I hope you have enjoyed reading about the history of one of our most beloved Christian songs. He is great and worthy to be praised. Personally, the line, Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee, does inspire me to sing praises to the Great God of heaven and Earth. Thank you again for taking the time to read my post. As always B# and God bless, Cheryl Johnson PS: I’ve included a few renditions of the featured song today. One of them includes the release by Carrie Underwood. You can click on the image and it will take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase the CD. Enjoy!
1 Comment
|
Thanks for the tip!Virtual buskers rock! That’s what your tip tells me. ☺
Musician's Helper is a totally free site, but, if you like my work and want to leave a tip, I'll surely put it to good use on things like food, clothes, fuel for my auto, soap to shower with, etc. I think those qualify for seriously good use. ☺
Thanks for your support of the indie biz community--Live long and prosper! Tipping made easy! 1.Click Here ► PayPal 2. Select friends or family option 3. Issue to akitapack3@gmail.com Member of the
|