Abide with Me in Tonic Solfa
Abide with Me in Tonic Solfa to EVENTIDE, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the five verses most books print, and a piano.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- d to l (E♭ to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- EVENTIDE
- Words
- Henry Francis Lyte
- Music
- William Henry Monk
Tune EVENTIDE by William Henry Monk (1823–1889); words by Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mA----mbide-rwith- | dme;---sfast--- |
| lfalls-sthe-sev--fen-- | mtide;------- |
| mThe---fdark--sness- | ldeep----sens;--- |
| fLord,-rwith-mme-fea-- | sbide:------- |
| mWhen---moth--rer- | dhelp----sers--- |
| sfail-fand-fcom--mforts- | rflee,------- |
| rHelp---mof-fthe- | mhelp--rless,-dO-fa-- |
| mbide---rwith--- | dme.------- |
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies:
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on m (G).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l and the chromatic fe. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
Henry Francis Lyte wrote Abide with Me in 1847, weeks before he died; it was published after his death. William Henry Monk wrote the tune EVENTIDE for it in 1861.
- Words (1847): Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847)
- Melody (1861): William Henry Monk (1823–1889)
Tune EVENTIDE by William Henry Monk (1823–1889); words by Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847).
Sung to the same tune: Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs.
Questions about Abide with Me
What is the doh of Abide with Me?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Abide with Me start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Abide with Me in the public domain?
Yes. Henry Francis Lyte died in 1847, William Henry Monk died in 1889; the words were first published in 1850 and the music in 1861. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.