Fight the Good Fight in Tonic Solfa
Fight the Good Fight in Tonic Solfa to DUKE STREET: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the four verses, and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dFight---mthe-fgood- | sfight---lwith-t_- |
| d'all---tthy-l_- | smight,------- |
| sChrist---sis-sthy- | lstrength,---sand--- |
| fChrist---mthy--- | rright;------- |
| mLay---mhold-ron- | dlife,-m_-sand-d'_- |
| lit-s_-fshall-m_- | rbe------- |
| sThy---ljoy-tand- | d'crown-----fe-- |
| mter----rnal---- | dly.------- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- DUKE STREET
- Words
- John S. B. Monsell
- Music
- John Hatton
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DUKE STREET by John Hatton (1710–1793); words by John S. B. Monsell (1811–1875). 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
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
Fight the good fight with all thy might,
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.
Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.
Cast care aside, lean on thy Guide:
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its life, and Christ its love.
Faint not nor fear, His arms are near,
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.
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. 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 S. B. Monsell’s words were published in 1863. The tune DUKE STREET is by John Hatton.
- Words (1863): John S. B. Monsell (1811–1875)
- Music (1793): John Hatton (1710–1793)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DUKE STREET by John Hatton (1710–1793); words by John S. B. Monsell (1811–1875). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: I Know That My Redeemer Lives.
Questions about Fight the Good Fight
What is the doh of Fight the Good Fight?
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 Fight the Good Fight start on?
It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Fight the Good Fight in the public domain?
Yes. John S. B. Monsell died in 1875, John Hatton died in 1793; the words were first published in 1863 and the music in 1793. 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.