How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot in Tonic Solfa
How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot in Tonic Solfa to HOLY MATRIMONY, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,How- | dhap---dpymis-dthe- | rpil--rgrim's-mlot!-l,How- |
| l,free-l,from-s,ev--dery- | t,anx--dious-rthought,-rFrom- |
| rworld--dly-t,hope-l,and- | s,fear!-----s,Con-- |
| t,fined--dtornei--fther- | mcourt-dnor-rcell,-l,His- |
| t,soul--rdis-fdains-mon- | dearth-mto-rdwell,-fHe- |
| mon--l,ly-t,so--t,journs- | dhere.----- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to f (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HOLY MATRIMONY
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
- Music
- Henry Williams Baker
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
How happy is the pilgrim's lot!
How free from every anxious thought,
From worldly hope and fear!
Confined to neither court nor cell,
His soul disdains on earth to dwell,
He only sojourns here.
This happiness in part is mine,
Already saved from self-design,
From every creature-love;
Blest with the scorn of finite good,
My soul is lightened of its load,
And seeks the things above.
The things eternal I pursue,
A happiness beyond the view
Of those that basely pant
For things by nature felt and seen;
Their honours, wealth, and pleasures mean
I neither have nor want.
I have no babes to hold me here;
But children more securely dear
For mine I humbly claim,
Better than daughters or than sons,
Temples divine of living stones,
Inscribed with Jesu's name.
No foot of land do I possess,
No cottage in this wilderness,
A poor wayfaring man,
I lodge awhile in tents below;
Or gladly wander to and fro,
Till I my Canaan gain.
Nothing on earth I call my own;
A stranger, to the world unknown,
I all their goods despise;
I trample on their whole delight,
And seek a country out of sight,
A country in the skies.
There is my house and portion fair,
My treasure and my heart are there.
And my abiding home;
For me my elder brethren stay,
And angels beckon me away,
And Jesus bids me come.
I come, thy servant, Lord, replies,
I come to meet thee in the skies,
And claim my heavenly rest;
Now let the pilgrim's journey end,
Now, O my Saviour, Brother, Friend.
Receive me to thy breast!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 s, (D), on the word “How”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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 Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 68. They first appeared in a book he and his brother Charles published together, and the Collection's own index cannot say which of the two wrote them.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), and this page sets them to HOLY MATRIMONY; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music (1865): Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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: Author of Faith, to Thee I Cry, Come, Wisdom, Power, and Grace Divine, Hail, Love Divine! Joys Ever New, He Came to Earth Who Came from God, How Blest the Hearts, How Happy Are the Little Flock, Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray, O Glorious Hope of Perfect Love, O Jesus, Lover of Our Race, O Saviour, Cast a Gracious Smile, O Son of God, on Thee We Call, O Thou Who Hast Our Sorrows Borne, Safe in the Comfort of Thy Grace, Soft Are the Fruitful Showers That Bring, Still Lord, I Languish for Thy Grace, Thee, Jesu, Thee, the Sinner's Friend, Thou Great Mysterious God Unknown, To Thee My Soul Enraptured Sings, Where’er I Go, Whate’er My Task.
Questions about How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot
What is the doh of How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major), a pickup on the word “How” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, Henry Williams Baker died in 1877; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1865. 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.