It Is Well With My Soul Horatio G. Spafford, 1876
4 verses and a refrain, meter 11.8.11.9.6.9, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows, like sea-billows, roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Verse 2. Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
Verse 3. My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious tho’t—
My sin—not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul!
Verse 4. And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so”—it is well with my soul.
Sing the refrain after every verse.
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1876, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind It Is Well with My Soul
Horatio Spafford, a Chicago lawyer and Presbyterian elder, wrote the words in 1873 after his four daughters drowned when the steamer Ville du Havre sank in the Atlantic. His wife Anna survived the wreck. Business had kept him in Chicago, so the family sailed ahead. The Library of Congress dates the sinking to November 21, 1873, and Hymnary.org gives November 22. Anna cabled him from Cardiff on December 1. The Library of Congress says he wrote the hymn while crossing to bring her home, when the captain showed him the spot where the ship went down. That account cites no primary source, so the exact place and day of writing remain the family tradition. Philip P. Bliss wrote the tune and named it VILLE DU HAVRE for the ship. Ira Sankey and Bliss printed words and tune together in Gospel Hymns No. 2 in 1876. Bliss died that December in the Ashtabula, Ohio, train wreck. Spafford moved to Jerusalem in 1881 and founded an American colony there. Hymnary.org lists the hymn in 603 hymnals. Many congregations sing the refrain once, after the fourth stanza.
Horatio G. Spafford
1828 to 1888
Horatio Spafford was a Chicago lawyer and Presbyterian elder. The Great Fire of 1871 destroyed his real estate investment. In 1873 his wife Anna and their four daughters sailed for England on the Ville du Havre while business kept him in Chicago. The ship sank after a collision, and the four girls drowned. Anna survived. Spafford wrote the words of It Is Well with My Soul that year. A son born after the tragedy died in 1880. In 1881 the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem with friends and founded an American colony there.
Philip P. Bliss
1838-07-09 to 1876-12-30
Philip P. Bliss was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. He left home young to work on farms and in lumber camps, and he was converted at a revival at age twelve. He taught music and went to Chicago in 1864 to work for George F. Root. Around 1871 he became choirman and Sunday school superintendent at First Congregational Church in Chicago. In 1874 he joined the evangelist D. W. Whittle. He wrote the words and tune of Man of Sorrows, What a Name. He and his wife died in a railway disaster at Ashtabula, Ohio, on December 30, 1876.
- Hymnary.org, When Peace, Like a River , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, VILLE DU HAVRE , read 2026-10-16
- Library of Congress, Family Tragedy, The American Colony in Jerusalem , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Philip P. Bliss , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in It Is Well with My Soul
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Philippians 4:7
- Colossians 2:14
- 1 Corinthians 15:52
- Isaiah 34:4
- Psalm 103
- Romans 8
It Is Well with My Soul videos
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It Is Well With My Soul • Congregational Daniel Baptist, Congregation
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It Is Well with My Soul (Hymn 407) | Grace Community Church Congregation & Orchestra Hymns of Grace, Congregation
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It Is Well with My Soul (arr. Mack Wilberg) | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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It Is Well With My Soul - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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It is Well with My Soul - piano instrumental hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Chris Tomlin - It Is Well (Live From Good Friday) Chris Tomlin, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 109 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 95 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 72 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 2 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
For Sunday
- Slides for It Is Well with My Soul All 4 verses and the refrain. Full screen, or a PowerPoint file that ProPresenter and Keynote open.
- Add it to a bulletin Opens the bulletin maker with It Is Well with My Soul in the order of service.
- Add it to a funeral program Opens the funeral program maker with this hymn in the order of service.
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in C, D♭ or B♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote It Is Well with My Soul?
Horatio Spafford wrote the words in 1873. Philip Bliss wrote the tune, VILLE DU HAVRE, and the two were first published together in 1876 in Gospel Hymns No. 2.
What is the true story behind It Is Well with My Soul?
Spafford's four daughters died when the Ville du Havre sank in November 1873, and his wife Anna survived. The Library of Congress says he wrote the hymn while sailing to join her, but it cites no primary source for the place or day he wrote it.
When was It Is Well with My Soul written?
Spafford wrote it in 1873, after the sinking. Sankey and Bliss first published it in 1876.
Is It Is Well with My Soul in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. They were first published in 1876, and Bliss's tune VILLE DU HAVRE dates from the same year.
What Bible verses are behind the hymn?
Hymnary.org ties stanza 1 to Philippians 4:7, stanza 3 to Colossians 2:14, and stanza 4 to Isaiah 34:4 and 1 Corinthians 15:52.
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