He Keeps Me Singing in Tonic Solfa
He Keeps Me Singing in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (C)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- HE KEEPS ME SINGING
- Words
- Luther Burgess Bridgers
- Music
- Hans Engelmann
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HE KEEPS ME SINGING by Hans Engelmann (1872–1914); words by Luther Burgess Bridgers (1884–1948). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mThere'smwith-reinmmyfheart-ma- | mmel--ro--l,dy--- |
| t,Je-dsusdewhis-rpersssweet-fand- | mlow,---f_-__ |
| s,"Fearmnot,reImamfwith-mthee,- | mpeace,-rbe-l,still,"--- |
| t,Insallfoft,life'smebb-rand- | dflow.-----__ |
| s,Je--l,sus,-t,Je--dsus,- | fJe----t,sus,‑-__ |
| sSweet--rest-sname-reI- | mknow,-----__ |
| s,Fills-l,my-t,ev--d'ry- | rlong----l,ing,-__ |
| t,Keepssmefsing-t,ingmas-rI- | dgo.----- |
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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
There's within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
"Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,"
In all of life's ebb and flow.
Refrain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus—
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my ev'ry longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumb'ring chords again.
Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting 'neath His shelt'ring wing,
Always looking on His smiling face,
That is why I shout and sing.
Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.
Soon He's coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 (C).
- 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 re de. 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 Luther Burgess Bridgers, first published in 1910. The tune, HE KEEPS ME SINGING, is by Hans Engelmann (1903). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1910): Luther Burgess Bridgers (1884–1948)
- Music (1903): Hans Engelmann (1872–1914)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HE KEEPS ME SINGING by Hans Engelmann (1872–1914); words by Luther Burgess Bridgers (1884–1948). 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 He Keeps Me Singing
What is the doh of He Keeps Me Singing?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 He Keeps Me Singing start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is He Keeps Me Singing in the public domain?
Yes. Luther Burgess Bridgers died in 1948, Hans Engelmann died in 1914; the words were first published in 1910 and the music in 1903. 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.