Introduction
The song “It Is Well With My Soul” has become one of the most beloved Christian hymns in history. Its original lyrics were written by Horatio G. Spafford, and Philip Bliss later composed the tune (called “Ville du Havre”) to accompany them. The hymn was first published in 1876 in Gospel Hymns No. 2 (by Ira Sankey and Bliss).
The backstory behind the hymn is dramatic and heart-wrenching. Spafford, a lawyer and Presbyterian elder in Chicago, suffered multiple tragedies: first, the death of his young son to scarlet fever; then financial ruin during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1873, he planned to join his wife, Anna, and their four daughters on a trip to England, but business matters delayed him. The ship carrying his family—the Ville du Havre—was struck by another vessel and sank in mid-Atlantic. All four daughters perished; only Anna survived. In the telegram she sent him, she wrote simply, “Saved alone …”
Spafford booked passage immediately to reunite with his wife. Legend holds that, as the ship passed over the site of the sinking, he was inspired to pen the words that would become the hymn. In fact, the poem was composed some time later, in 1876, under the encouragement of his friend Sankey, who witnessed the writing process.
Rory & Joey recorded their rendition of “It Is Well With My Soul” for their 2016 album Hymns That Are Important to Us. The album was a deeply personal project—Joey + Rory chose hymns that had sustained them through trials—and it stood as their final studio album, released amid Joey Feek’s battle with illness. Their version brings a quiet reverence to this timeless hymn of surrender, hope, and faith in the midst of suffering, connecting their own life’s journey to the enduring message Spafford felt compelled to share.