Psychological studies of the effect of intention upon task completion by professors Peter Gollwitzer, Paschal Sheeran and Sheina Orbell indicate that there is some truth in the proverb.
[13] The earliest known text resembling this phrase occurs in Virgil's Aeneid: "facilis descensus Averno (the descent to hell is easy)".
[citation needed] An 1811 English version of one of Rambach's books includes, "The road to hell is paved with good resolutions", a translation of his 1730 German text Der Weg zur Höllen sey mit lauter gutem Vorsatz gepflastert.
[25] Authors who have used the phrase include Charlotte Brontë, Lord Byron, Randy Travis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott,[26] Søren Kierkegaard,[27] and Karl Marx.
Five Finger Death Punch used the term on their song "Living The Dream" for their 8th studio album released in 2020 F8 In the movie Highway to Hell, the phrase is taken literally to create one particular scene.
The Good Intentions Paving Company has a team of Andy Warhols who grind good-intentioned souls to form the pavement.
[29] The figurative meaning of the phrase is a big part of the plot too, as several characters offer to help the two protagonists on the Road to Hell, but all of them have ulterior motives.
Madonna uses this line in her 2008 single "4 Minutes," featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, off her eleventh studio album Hard Candy.
[30] Post hardcore band In Fear and Faith has a song titled "The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions" featuring Craig Owens of Chiodos on their 2009 album Your World on Fire.
Vegyn released his seventh original album, titled with this proverb "The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions" in 2024.