The hymn "How Great Thou Art" is, deservedly, one of the most popular Christian songs. Most people outside of Sweden probably do not know that a Swedish lay preacher, politician and author Carl Boberg (1859-1940) wrote the original lyrics - a poem - in 1886. Soon the poem was matched to an old Swedish folk tune, with the first church performance in the Swedish province of Värmland in 1888.
In 1907 the hymn was translated into German by a wealthy Baptist nobleman, Manfred von Glehn, who lived in Estonia. A few years later a Russian version appeared. The British missionary Stuart K. Hine heard this version in Ukraine in 1931 and started working on an English version. Hine wrote several verses to "How Great Thou Art", the last one as late as 1948.
Many outstanding singers have recorded "How Great Thou Art" (including Elvis Presley), but nobody - in my opinion - does it better than the great Sandi Patty. Listen here, and see if you agree with me:
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