Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord in Tonic Solfa
Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord in Tonic Solfa to WATCHMAN, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dCome,---rthou-mhigh---rand- | mlof----fty-sLord!----- |
| sLow----mly,-smeek,---lin-- | scar----mnate-rWord!----- |
| dHum----rbly-mstoop---rto- | mearth---fa--sgain,----- |
| d'Come---land-svis----rit- | mab----rject-dmen!----- |
| sJe----msus,-d'dear---lex-- | spect----med-d'guest,----- |
| sThou---mart-d'bid----lden- | tto---lthe-sfeast,----- |
| mFor---rthy--dself---rour- | mhearts---fpre--spare,----- |
| d'Come,---land-ssit,---rand- | mban----rquet-dthere!----- |
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
- 6/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- WATCHMAN
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune WATCHMAN by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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 · 6/4
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
Come, thou high and lofty Lord!
Lowly, meek, incarnate Word!
Humbly stoop to earth again,
Come and visit abject men!
Jesus, dear expected guest,
Thou art bidden to the feast,
For thyself our hearts prepare,
Come, and sit, and banquet there!
Jesus, we thy promise claim,
We are met in thy great name;
In the midst do thou appear,
Manifest thy presence here!
Sanctify us, Lord, and bless,
Breathe thy Spirit, give thy peace,
Thou thyself within us move,
Make our feast a feast of love.
Let the fruits of grace abound;
Let in us thy bowels sound;
Faith, and love, and joy increase,
Temperance and gentleness;
Plant in us thy humble mind;
Patient, pitiful, and kind,
Meek and lowly let us be,
Full of goodness, full of thee.
Make us all in thee complete,
Make us all for glory meet,
Meet to appear before thy sight,
Partners with the saints in light.
Call, O call us each by name,
To the marriage of the Lamb;
Let us lean upon thy breast,
Love be there our endless feast!
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. 6/4 means six crotchet beats (two dotted minims) 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
John Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 520. They first appeared in a book he and his brother Charles published together, and the Collection's own index cannot say which of the two wrote them.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), and this page sets them to WATCHMAN; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music (1830): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune WATCHMAN by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791).
Sung to the same tune: Darkness Overspreads Us Here, Father, Lo! We Consecrate, Father, Son, and Spirit, Hear, Father! Thy Paternal Care, Gracious Lord, Our Children See, Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand, Mary to Her Savior's Tomb, Meet and Right It Is to Praise, O My God, What Must I Do, Pleasing Spring Again Is Here, Time, by Moments, Steals Away, While with Ceaseless Course the Sun.
Questions about Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord
What is the doh of Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord?
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 Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord start on?
It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1830. 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.