He Was Not Willing in Tonic Solfa
He Was Not Willing in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- d to l (E♭ to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- HE WAS NOT WILLING
- Words
- Lucy Jane Rider Meyer
- Music
- Lucy Jane Rider Meyer
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HE WAS NOT WILLING by Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922); words by Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| m"He-,mwasmnotmwill-mingmthat | fa--,fnyfshouldmper--dish"; | sJe--,ssussen-sthronedsinsthe | lglo-sryma-rbove,-- |
| mSaw-,mourmpoormfal-mlenmworld, | fpi--,ftiedfourmsor--drows, | sPoured-,soutsHisllifesformus, | dwon-mder-rfuldlove!-- |
| mPer--,mish-ming,mper-mish-ming! | fThrong--,fingfourmpath--dway, | sHearts-,sbreakswithlbur-sdensmtoo | dhea-mvyrtodbear:-- |
| lJe--,lsuslwouldlsave,lbutlthere's | mno-,monemtomtell-mthem, | sNo-,sonestosliftsthemsfrom | rsin-,mandfedes-spair.-- |
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 · 6/8
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
"He was not willing that any should perish";
Jesus enthroned in the glory above,
Saw our poor fallen world, pitied our sorrows,
Poured out His life for us, wonderful love!
Perishing, perishing! Thronging our pathway,
Hearts break with burdens too heavy to bear:
Jesus would save, but there's no one to tell them,
No one to lift them from sin and despair.
"He was not willing that any should perish";
Clothed in our flesh with its sorrow and pain,
Came He to seek the lost, comfort the mourner,
Heal the heart broken by sorrow and shame.
Perishing, perishing! Harvest is passing,
Reapers are few and the night draweth near:
Jesus is calling thee, haste to the reaping,
Thou shalt have souls, precious souls for thy hire.
Plenty for pleasure, but little for Jesus;
Time for the world with its troubles and toys,
No time for Jesus' work, feeding the hungry,
Lifting lost souls to eternity's joys.
Perishing, perishing! Hark, how they call us;
Bring us your Savior, oh, tell us of Him!
We are so weary, so heavily laden,
And with long weeping our eyes have grown dim.
"He was not willing that any should perish";
Am I His follower, and can I live
Longer at ease with a soul going downward,
Lost for the lack of the help I might give!
Perishing, perishing! Thou wast not willing;
Master, forgive, and inspire us anew;
Banish our worldliness, help us to ever
Live with eternity's values in view.
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 m (G).
- Count the time. 6/8 means two dotted-crotchet beats (six quavers) in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l 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 Lucy Jane Rider Meyer, first published in 1885. The tune, HE WAS NOT WILLING, is by Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1885). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1885): Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922)
- Music (1885): Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HE WAS NOT WILLING by Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922); words by Lucy Jane Rider Meyer (1849–1922). 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 Was Not Willing
What is the doh of He Was Not Willing?
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 He Was Not Willing start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is He Was Not Willing in the public domain?
Yes. Lucy Jane Rider Meyer died in 1922, Lucy Jane Rider Meyer died in 1922; the words were first published in 1885 and the music in 1885. 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.