Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand in Tonic Solfa
Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand in Tonic Solfa to WATCHMAN, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dGuide---rus,-mLord!---rwhile,- | mhand---fin-shand,----- |
| sJour----mneying-stoward---lthe- | sbet----mter-rland;----- |
| dFoes---rwe-mknow---rare- | mto---fbe-smet,----- |
| d'Snares---lthe-spil----rgrim's- | mpath---rbe--dset;----- |
| sClouds---mup--d'on---lthe- | sval----mley-d'rest,----- |
| sRough---mand-d'dark---lthe- | tmoun----ltain's-sbreast;----- |
| mAnd---rour-dhome---rmay- | mnot---fbe-sgained,----- |
| d'Save---lthrough-stri----rals- | mwell---rsus--dtained.----- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 6/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- WATCHMAN
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune WATCHMAN by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Anonymous. 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
Guide us, Lord! while, hand in hand,
Journeying toward the better land;
Foes we know are to be met,
Snares the pilgrim's path beset;
Clouds upon the valley rest,
Rough and dark the mountain's breast;
And our home may not be gained,
Save through trials well sustained.
Guide us, while we onward move,
Linked in closest bonds of love,
Striving for the holy mind,
And the soul from sense refined;
That when life no longer burns,
And the dust to dust returns,
With the strength which Thou hast given
We may rise to Thee and heaven.
God of mercy! on Thee, all
Humbly for Thy guidance call;
Save us from the evil tongue,
From the heart that thinketh wrong,
From the sins, whate'er they be,
That divide the soul from Thee.
God of grace! on Thee we rest;
Bless us, and we shall be blest.
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
These words were printed without an author's name in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 62, “Prayer for Guidance”, where the book credits them to Beard's Collection.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to WATCHMAN; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1830): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune WATCHMAN by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: Come, Thou High and Lofty Lord, Darkness Overspreads Us Here, Father, Lo! We Consecrate, Father, Son, and Spirit, Hear, Father! Thy Paternal Care, Gracious Lord, Our Children See, 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 Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand
What is the doh of Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand?
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 Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand start on?
It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Guide Us, Lord! While, Hand in Hand in the public domain?
Yes. Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1848 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.