As Birds Their Infant Brood Protect in Tonic Solfa

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.

Staff notation

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

The words

How to sing it from the solfa

• Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (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 t. 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

William Cowper wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book I, hymn 72, “Jehovah-Shammah. Ezek 48:33”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre (8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to OLD HUNDREDTH; any other Long Metre tune fits them as well.

• Words: William Cowper (1731–1800)
• Melody, Genevan Psalter (1551): Louis Bourgeois (1510–1560)

Tune OLD HUNDREDTH by Louis Bourgeois (1510–1560); words by William Cowper (1731–1800).

Sung to the same tune: 'Tis by the Faith of Joys to Come, 'Tis from the Treasures of His Word, 'Twas the Commission of Our Lord, "Come Hither, All Ye Weary Souls, "Go Preach My Gospel, (Saith the Lord,), "Thus Shalt Thou Love the Almighty Lord, Ah Wretched Souls, Who Strive in Vain, All People That on Earth Do Dwell, Amidst a World of Hopes and Fears, And Is the Gospel Peace and Love, As Showers on Meadows Newly Mown, Awake, My Zeal, Awake, My Love, Away from Every Mortal Care, Be Present at Our Table, Lord, Behold the Potter and the Clay, Behold the Rose of Sharon Here, Behold the Woman's Promis'd Seed, Bless'd Be the Father and His Love, Blest Are the Humble Souls That See, Borne on the Clouds the Christ Arose, Bright King of Glory, Dreadful God, Called by the Sabbath Bells Away, Come to the Living Waters, Come, Come, Dearest Lord, Descend and Dwell, Descend from Heaven, Immortal Dove, Elisha, Struck with Grief and Awe, Even as Thou Saidst, the Spirit Came, Far from My Thoughts, Vain World, Be Gone, Far Let Me Flee from Worldly Sin, Father and Friend, Thy Light, Thy Love, Father, to Thy Kind Love We Owe, For Ever Shall My Song Record, Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go, Give to the Lord, Ye Sons of Fame, Go, Worship at Immanuel's Feet, God in His Earthly Temple Lays, God Is Our Refuge and Defence, God of Eternity! from Thee, God of My Life, to Thee I Call, God of My Life, Whose Gracious Power, God! the Eternal Awful Name, Great God, How Oft Did Israel Prove, Great God, Thy Glories Shall Employ, Happy the City, Where Their Sons, Happy the Man Whose Cautious Feet, Hath Not Thy Heart Within Thee Burned, He Came Because the Father Willed, Heaven Is a State of Rest from Sin, Here in Thy Name, Eternal God, High in the Heavens, Eternal God, Holy Lord God! I Love Thy Truth, Holy, and True, and Righteous Lord, Honor and Happiness Unite, How Blest the Sacred Tie That Binds, How Oft Have Sin and Satan Strove, How Pleasant, How Divinely Fair, If on Our Daily Course Our Mind, In Vain the Wealthy Mortals Toil, Is There a Lone and Dreary Hour, It Is the Lord Our Saviour's Hand, Jehovah Reigns, His Throne Is High, Jesus, My King, to Thee I Bow, Jesus, Thy Church with Longing Eyes, Jesus, We Bow Before Thy Feet, Like Morning, When Her Early Breeze, Like Music at the Stilly Hour, Lord of the Sabbath, Hear Our Vows, Lord, 'Tis a Pleasant Thing to Stand, Lord, Grant That We E’er Pure Retain, Lord, I Am Thine; but Thou Wilt Prove, Lord, Thou Hast Call'd Thy Grace to Mind, Lord, We Have Wandered from Thy Way, Lord, Who Hast Suffered All for Me, Lord! in Thy Garden Agony, Loud Hallelujahs to the Lord, Millions Within Thy Courts Have Been, Must All the Charms of Nature Then, My Dear Redeemer and My Lord, My God, in Whom Are All the Springs, My God, Shall Sin Its Power Maintain, My God, What Inward Grief I Feel, My Soul, Thy Great Creator Praise, Nature with All Her Powers Shall Sing, Now by the Bowels of My God, Now for a Tune of Lofty Praise, Now Glows the Morn in Beauty Rare, Now Sinks the Fiery Orb of Day, Now to the Lord a Noble Song, Now to the Lord That Makes Us Know, O Bless, Thou Heavenly Potentate, O Christ, When on the Shameful Tree, O God of Love, on Bended Knee, O God, to Whom, in Flesh Revealed, O God! Who Knowest How Frail We Are, O Light That from the Light Wast Born, O Lord of Hosts, Whose Glory Fills, O Lord, How Many Are My Foes, O Source Divine, and Life of All, O Spirit of the Living God, O Thou Eternal One in Three, O Thou, Who Art Above All Height, O Thou, Who on Thy Chosen Son, O Woeful Hour! When from the Night, O, Come, Loud Anthems Let Us Sing, One Cup of Healing Oil and Wine, Oppressed with Unbelief and Sin, Our Souls Shall Magnify the Lord, Poor, Weak, and Worthless Though I Am, Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (Doxology), Preserve Me, Lord, in Time of Need, Return to Bless My Waiting Eyes, Return, O Wanderer, Return, So Fades the Lovely, Blooming Flower, Spirit of Mercy, Truth, and Love, Stretched on the Cross, the Saviour Dies, Terrible God, That Reign'st on High, That Was a Wonder-working Word, The Christian Warrior, See Him Stand, The God of Mercy Will Indulge, The Lands That Long in Darkness Lay, The Lord Is Come, the Heavens Proclaim, The Lord Is King, and Earth Submits, The Lord of Life to Earth Came Down, The Lord Receives His Highest Praise, The Morning Flowers Display Their Sweets, The New-born Child of Gospel-grace, The Saints Emmanuel'S Portion Are, The Shunemite, Oppressed with Grief, The Wonders, Lord, Thy Love Has Wrought, The Word, Proceeding from Above, Thee We Adore, Eternal Lord, There Was an Hour When Christ Rejoic'd, Think on Me, Lord, for Thou Art Kind, This Day at Thy Creating Word, This Spacious Earth Is All the Lord's, Thou God of Hope, to Thee We Bow, Thou Who Hast Led Our Steps This Day, Thou, Lord, by Strictest Search Hast Known, Thou, Lord, Who Rear'st the Mountain's Height, Thrice Happy Man Who Fears the Lord, Through Every Age, Eternal God, Thus Did the Sons of Abrah'm Pass, Thus Saith the Lord to Ephesus, Thus Saith the Wisdom of the Lord, Thy Mansion Is the Christian's Heart, Thy Name Be Hallowed Evermore, Thy Presence, Gracious God, Afford, Thy Ways, O Lord, with Wise Design, To Thee, Most Holy, and Most High, Unchangeable Almighty Lord, Up to the Lord That Reigns on High, Vain Man, on Foolish Pleasures Bent, We Are a Garden Wall'd Around, We Bless the Lord, the Just, the Good, We Bless Thee for This Sacred Day, We Have a Sure Prophetic Word, We Long to See That Happy Time, What Equal Honours Shall We Bring, What Thousands Never Knew the Road, When Darkness Long Has Veiled My Mind, When First to Make My Heart His Own, When God Restor'd Our Captive State, When God, Provok'd with Daring Crimes, When in the Hour of Utmost Need, When Israel, of the Lord Beloved, When Pain and Anguish Seize Me, Lord, When Power Divine, in Mortal Form, When Strangers Stand and Hear Me Tell, When, Blest Redeemer, Thou Art Near, While Yet the Youthful Spirit Bears, Who Shall the Lord's Elect Condemn, Why on the Bending Willows Hung, Why Should We Start and Fear to Die, With Satan, My Accuser Near, Within Thy Courts Have Millions Met, Ye Sons of Adam, Vain and Young.