That 'It is well with my soul' when things are hard.

"It Is Well with My Soul" is a very influential hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss.

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone . . .". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.

Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel.[1]

The Spaffords later had three more children, one of whom (a son) died in infancy. In 1881 the Spaffords, including baby Bertha and newborn Grace, set sail for Israel. The Spaffords moved to Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony; its mission was to serve the poor. The colony later became the subject of the Nobel prize winning Jerusalem, by Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf.

Although the original manuscript reads "know" at the end of the third line, almost all recordings and written reproductions read "say".

The Georgia Southern University marching band Southern Pride plays the song at the end of each win. Christian metalcore band, Haste the Day, named their band after a verse in the hymn.

"It Is Well with My Soul" was recorded and released by Christian rock bands Audio Adrenaline and Kutless in 1999 and 2009 respectively. The Kutless version, which is the title track of their 2009 album, is played and sung in a Hard rock style.

In 2008, Kristyn Getty sang it at a confrence in the US, becoming a hit on YouTube.[2]

In January 2011, Hillsong Music recorded a version of the hymn after singing a "version of the old hymn" in church on January 16th. The song was recorded in Sydney in three days, mixed in England overnight and finally mastered in LA. All proceeds from the recording go to help the Queensland Flood Relief Effort. [3] This version of the song features Darlene Zschech singing solo and an added Bridge written by Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding.