Did You Think to Pray? in Tonic Solfa
Did You Think to Pray? in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- s, to d' (C to F)
- Tune
- STOCKBRIDGE
- Words
- Mary Ann Pepper Kidder
- Music
- William Oscar Perkins
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune STOCKBRIDGE by William Oscar Perkins (1831–1902); words by Mary Ann Pepper Kidder (1820–1905). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mEre--myoufleftmyourrroomdthis | s,morn----ding,--- |
| rDid--ryoufthink-mto- | rpray?------- |
| rIn--rthernamerofdChristrour | mSa----svior,--- |
| mDid--myoufsuemforrlov-ding | l,fa----dvor,--- |
| t,As--darshield--mto- | dday?------- |
| sO--showlpray-singferestssthe | d'wea----sry!--- |
| mPrayer--swilllchangesthefnightmto | rday;------- |
| mSo--mwhenflifemseemsrdarkdand | l,drea----dry,--- |
| t,Don't--dfor-rget--mto | dpray.------- |
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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor,
As a shield today?
O how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will
Refrain
change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don't forget to pray.
When you met with great temptation,
Did you think to pray?
By His dying love and merit,
Did you claim the Holy Spirit
As your guide and stay?
When your heart was filled with anger,
Did you think to pray?
Did you plead for grace, my brother,
That you might forgive another Who had crossed your way?
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (A).
- 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
The words are by Mary Ann Pepper Kidder, first published in 1876. The tune, STOCKBRIDGE, is by William Oscar Perkins (1876). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1876): Mary Ann Pepper Kidder (1820–1905)
- Music (1876): William Oscar Perkins (1831–1902)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune STOCKBRIDGE by William Oscar Perkins (1831–1902); words by Mary Ann Pepper Kidder (1820–1905). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Questions about Did You Think to Pray?
What is the doh of Did You Think to Pray??
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Did You Think to Pray? start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Did You Think to Pray? in the public domain?
Yes. Mary Ann Pepper Kidder died in 1905, William Oscar Perkins died in 1902; the words were first published in 1876 and the music in 1876. 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.