Ever walked into a small-town church and heard a song that felt like it was physically lifting the roof off the building? That's the power of the what a day that will be lyrics. It isn't just some dusty old hymn tucked away in the back of a tattered hymnal. It’s a literal anthem of hope. Honestly, even if you aren't the religious type, there is something about the raw, visceral longing in those words that gets under your skin.
The song was written by Jim Hill. He wasn't some corporate songwriter in a high-rise office. He was a guy living a real life, dealing with real family pain, and he scribbled down a vision of a world where "no more sorrow" isn't just a nice thought, but a reality.
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The Backstory You Probably Didn't Know
Most people think gospel songs are just written by people feeling particularly holy on a Sunday morning. Jim Hill's story is way more grounded than that. It was 1955. Hill was traveling with his group, the Golden Keys Quartet. His mother-in-law had suffered a severe stroke. She was only 50.
Think about that for a second.
A 50-year-old woman, suddenly unable to speak, paralyzed, her life flipped upside down in a heartbeat. Hill was driving home from a performance, thinking about the sheer unfairness of it all. He was looking at his wife’s grief. He was looking at a woman who could no longer communicate with the people she loved. That's when the "what a day that will be lyrics" started forming in his head. He wasn't writing about a faraway fantasy; he was writing about a desperate need for a place where "no more clouds" and "no more tears" actually meant something tangible.
He reportedly pulled the car over. He wrote the lyrics on a scrap of paper—some say it was a laundry detergent box or just a random piece of mail. He didn't have a piano. He just had this melody in his head that matched the rhythm of his heart hitting his ribs.
Breaking Down the What a Day That Will Be Lyrics
The song doesn't waste time with fluff. It gets right to the point. The first verse introduces us to a place of "total peace" and "everlasting joy."
"There is coming a day that no heartaches shall come..."
It’s a bold claim. In a world where we're constantly bombarded by bad news and personal struggles, the idea of a day without a single heartache feels almost impossible. But that’s the hook. It leans into the universal human desire for rest.
The chorus is where the magic happens.
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.
It’s simple. It’s declarative. It focuses on the face-to-face meeting. For Hill, and for the millions who have sung it since, the "day" isn't about golden streets or pearly gates. It’s about a person. It’s about the "One who saved me by His grace."
The second verse mentions that there will be "no more sickness, no more pain." Given the context of his mother-in-law’s stroke, those words carry a weight that most modern pop songs couldn't dream of. He was imagining her whole again. He was imagining her standing up and speaking.
Why This Song Refuses to Die
You’ve likely heard this song at a funeral. Or maybe a wedding. Or a random Tuesday night revival in Georgia. Why? Because it’s a "thin place" song. In Celtic tradition, a thin place is where the distance between heaven and earth narrows. These lyrics create that atmosphere.
Musicologists often point out that the song’s structure is incredibly easy to follow. It uses a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus format, but it’s the rising swell of the melody during the chorus that does the heavy lifting. It starts low and builds up to that high "What a day!"
It’s been covered by everyone.
- The Gaither Vocal Band (obviously, they turned it into a powerhouse arrangement).
- Anne Murray gave it a softer, more reflective feel.
- George Jones brought that country grit to it.
- The Isaacs added their signature bluegrass harmonies.
Each version brings a different flavor, but the core of the what a day that will be lyrics remains unchanged. It’s the ultimate "hang in there" song. It acknowledges that today might suck. Today might be full of shadows. But the "day" is coming.
The Cultural Impact of Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel is a weird, wonderful genre. It’s built on the backs of people who worked hard all week and wanted something to sing about on Sunday that felt as big as their struggles. Jim Hill was a staple in this world. He eventually joined the Statesmen Quartet, which was basically the Beatles of Southern Gospel back in the day.
But even with all his success, "What a Day That Will Be" remained his legacy. He once mentioned in an interview that he never expected it to go worldwide. He just wanted to comfort his wife.
Isn't that usually how the best art happens? It starts as a private conversation or a private prayer and ends up being the words a stranger uses to get through their own dark night.
Common Misconceptions About the Lyrics
Some folks get the lyrics mixed up with other "heaven" songs. It’s often confused with "O I Want to See Him" or "When We All Get to Heaven."
The key difference is the focus on the absence of specific suffering. Hill’s lyrics are very surgical about what is being removed:
- No heartaches.
- No clouds.
- No tears.
- No sickness.
- No more parting.
It’s a checklist of human misery being systematically deleted.
How to Lean Into the Message Today
If you’re looking at these lyrics and wondering how they apply to a world of TikTok and AI and 24-hour news cycles, look at the "no more clouds" line. We live in a very "cloudy" time. Uncertainty is the default setting for most of us.
The what a day that will be lyrics offer a mental reset. They remind the listener that current circumstances aren't the final chapter. It's a song about the "Long View."
If you want to really experience the song, don't just read the words on a screen. Go find the version by the Gaither Vocal Band featuring Guy Penrod and David Phelps. Watch the way the audience reacts. You’ll see people who look like they’ve been through the ringer—people who have lost kids, lost jobs, or are fighting cancer—and they are singing those words like their lives depend on it. Because, in a way, they do.
Practical Ways to Use the Lyrics for Reflection
You don't have to be a singer to appreciate the depth here.
- Read them as poetry. Forget the melody for a second. Just read the words. Note the contrast between the "shadows" of now and the "light" of then.
- Compare versions. Listen to a solo acoustic version and then a full choir. Notice how the intimacy of a solo voice changes the meaning versus the communal roar of a crowd.
- Think about your "Day." What is the one thing you’d want to see gone? For Hill, it was the silence and paralysis of a stroke. For you, it might be anxiety or grief.
Jim Hill passed away in 2018. He was 88. He spent decades singing about a day he finally got to see. There’s something poetic about a man who wrote about the end of sorrow finally reaching that point himself.
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The song remains a staple because it doesn't lie to you. It doesn't say "today is perfect." It says "today is hard, but something better is fixed in the future." That's not just a religious sentiment; it's a survival strategy.
When you look at the what a day that will be lyrics, don't just see a hymn. See a man in a car in 1955, crying for his mother-in-law, and deciding that the pain he saw wasn't the end of the story. That’s why we’re still singing it seventy years later.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Connection to the Hymn
If you want to truly master the history and impact of this piece, start by researching the "Statesmen Quartet" recordings from the late 50s to hear the original styling. From there, explore the "Cathedrals" version for a more modern Southern Gospel take. Finally, take a moment to write out the lyrics by hand; it changes how you process the meter and the specific promises made in each stanza, allowing you to see the literary structure Jim Hill used to build emotional tension before the final, triumphant chorus.