And Am I Born to Die in Tonic Solfa

And Am I Born to Die in Tonic Solfa to DIADEMATA, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

dAnd-damdImborn-mto-

ldie?-----lTo-

slay-dthis-fbo--mdy-

rdown?-----rAnd-

mmust-smy-ltrem--sbling-

fespir--mitr_sfly-d'In--

tto-d'a-lworld-lun--

sknown-----sA-

sland-mof-rdeep--dest-

lshade,-----lUn--

lpierced-feby-mhu--rman-

tthought,-----tThe-

d'drea---trylre--sgions-

fof-rthe-mdead,-sWhere-

fall-mthings-rare-rfor--

dgot?-------

Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →

Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir

Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: d (D)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: DIADEMATA
Words: Charles Wesley
Music: George Job Elvey

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). Sources and licences.

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 message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.

Doh is D · 4/4

| d - d d m - m - And am I born to| l - - - - - l - |die? To

| s - d - f - m - lay this body| r - - - - - r - |down? And

| m - s - l - s - must my trembling| fe - m r s - d' - |spirit fly In-

| t - d' - l - l - to a world un-| s - - - - - s - |known A

| s - m - r - d - land of deepest| l - - - - - l - |shade, Un-

| l - fe - m - r - pierced by human| t - - - - - t - |thought, The

| d' - - t l - s - dreary regions| f - r - m - s - |of the dead, Where

| f - m - r - r - all things are for-| d - - - - - - - |got?

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

And am I born to die?
To lay this body down?
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown -
A land of deepest shade,
Unpierced by human thought,
The dreary regions of the dead,
Where all things are forgot?

Soon as from earth I go,
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be;
Waked by the trumpet's sound,
I from my grave shall rise,
And see the Judge with glory crowned,
And see the flaming skies.

How shall I leave my tomb?
With triumph or regret?
A fearful or a joyful doom,
A curse or blessing meet?
Will angel-bands convey
Their brother to the bar?
Or devils drag my soul away,
To meet its sentence there?

Who can resolve the doubt
That tears my anxious breast?
Shall I be with the damned cast out,
Or numbered with the blest?
I must from God be driven,
Or with my Saviour dwell;
Must come at his command to heaven,
Or else - depart to hell.

O thou that wouldst not have
One wretched sinner die,
Who died'st thyself; my soul to save
From endless misery!
Show me the way to shun
Thy dreadful wrath severe,
That when thou comest on thy throne
I may with joy appear.

Thou art thyself the Way;
Thyself in me reveal;
So shall I spend my life's short day
Obedient to thy will;
So shall I love my God,
Because he first loved me,
And praise thee in thy bright abode,
To all eternity.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 d (D).
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 t 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

Charles Wesley wrote these words. His brother John printed them in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 43.

The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Short Metre Double (6.6.8.6.6.6.8.6), and this page sets them to DIADEMATA; any other Short Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Melody (1868): George Job Elvey (1816–1893)

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).

Sung to the same tune: Ah Whither Should I Go, Ah, When Shall I Awake, Crown Him with Many Crowns, Equip Me for the War, Father of Boundless Grace, Gracious Redeemer, Shake, Great Source of Life and Light, Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold, I Want a Sober Mind, I Was a Wandering Sheep, I Will Not Yield My Sword, In Fellowship, Alone, It Is the Hour of Prayer, Jesu, We Look to Thee, Jesus, My Strength, My Hope, Lord, When at Thy Command, My God, My Strength, My Hope, My Sin Was Very Great, O God, in Mercy Hear, O That I Could Repent, O Thou Who Wouldst Not Have, O Unexhausted Grace, Soldiers of Christ, Arise, Sow in the Morn Thy Seed, Sweet Is the Time of Spring, The Thing My God Doth Hate, We Mourn for Those Who Toil.

Questions about And Am I Born to Die

What is the doh of And Am I Born to Die?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 And Am I Born to Die start on?

It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is And Am I Born to Die in the public domain?

Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, George Job Elvey died in 1893; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1868. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.