Happy the Man Who Feareth God (Wo Gott Zum Haus) in Tonic Solfa
Happy the Man Who Feareth God in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- WO GOTT ZUM HAUS
- Words
- Martin Luther, Richard Massie
- Music
- From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WO GOTT ZUM HAUS (From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dHap----spy-sthe- | mman-rwho-mfear--feeth- |
| sGod,--sWhosemfeet-sHis- | fho--sly-mways-rhave- |
| dtrod;--sThinelown-lgood- | mhand-sshall-fnour--fish- |
| mthee,--d'Andtwell-land- | shap--lpy-fshaltm_rthou- |
| dbe.------- |
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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Happy the man who feareth God,
Whose feet His holy ways have trod;
Thine own good hand shall nourish thee,
And well and happy shalt thou be.
Thy wife shall, like a fruitful vine,
Fill all thy house with clusters fine;
Thy children all be fresh and sound,
Like olive—plants thy table round.
Lo! to the man these blessings cleave
Who in God's holy fear doth live;
From him the ancient curse hath fled
By Adam's race inherited.
Out of Mount Zion God shall send,
And crown with joy thy latter end;
That thou Jerusalem mayst see,
In favor and prosperity.
He shall be with thee in thy ways,
And give thee health and length of days
Yea, thou shalt children's children see,
And peace on Israel shall be.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (E♭).
- 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 Martin Luther, first published in 1524. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1854). The tune, WO GOTT ZUM HAUS, is from Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1524): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
- Translated (1854): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
- Melody (1533): From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WO GOTT ZUM HAUS (From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). 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.
Sung to the same tune: Oh, Blest the House, The Star Proclaims the King Is Here.
Questions about Happy the Man Who Feareth God (Wo Gott Zum Haus)
What is the doh of Happy the Man Who Feareth God (Wo Gott Zum Haus)?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Happy the Man Who Feareth God (Wo Gott Zum Haus) start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Happy the Man Who Feareth God (Wo Gott Zum Haus) in the public domain?
Yes. Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1854 and the music in 1533. 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.