The original Swedish text was a poem entitled “O Store Gud”, written in 1886 by a Swedish preacher Carl Boberg.
Boberg’s inspiration for “How Great Thou Art” came from a visit to a beautiful country estate on the southeast coast of Sweden
He got caught up in a midday thunderstorm with awe-inspiring moments of flashing violence, followed by a clear brilliant sun
Soon afterwards he heard the calm, sweet songs of the birds in nearby trees.
The experience prompted Boberg to “fall on his knees in humble adoration of his mighty God”
The English translator Stuart Hine with his wife, was a missionary in Poland and Czechoslovakia
The thought of writing the original English lyrics came while crossing into the Carpathian Mountains of Russia in the 1930’s
Where the scenery greatly played its part.
One day the couple was caught in a violent storm
The thoughts of the first three verses in English were conceived
The forth verse was penned after World War II