I Need Thee Every Hour in Tonic Solfa

I Need Thee Every Hour in Tonic Solfa, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all five verses with the refrain, and a piano.

Key: Ab major
Doh: Ab
Time: 3/4
Starts on: d (A♭)
Range: s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
Tune: NEED
Words: Annie Sherwood Hawks, Robert Lowry
Music: Robert Lowry

Tune NEED by Robert Lowry (1826–1899); words by Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835–1918) and Robert Lowry (1826–1899). Sources and licences.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Ab3/4

dI-

mneed--rTheedev-t,’ry

dhour,---dMost-

dgra---r_dciousl,_

s,Lord;---s,No-

rten---mderrvoices,like

mThine---dCan-

t,peace--d_t,af-l,_

s,ford.---mI-

mneed--dThee,fOmI

mneed-rThee;---

rEv---d’rymhourrI

rneed-dThee;-dO-

dbless--rmednow,l,my

s,Sav--diour,-rI-

mcome--d_rto-

dThee!---

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 · 3/4

| d - I| m - - r d t, need Thee ev’ry| d - - - d - hour, Most| d - - r d l, gracious| s, - - - s, - |Lord; No

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

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Saviour,
I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour;
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfil.

I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son!

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 d (A♭), on the word “I”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
Count the time. 3/4 means three 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

Annie Sherwood Hawks, a homemaker in Brooklyn, New York, wrote these words in 1872. Her pastor, Robert Lowry, set them to music and added the refrain.

Words (1872): Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835–1918)
Refrain (1872): Robert Lowry (1826–1899)
Melody (1872): Robert Lowry (1826–1899)

Tune NEED by Robert Lowry (1826–1899); words by Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835–1918) and Robert Lowry (1826–1899).

Questions about I Need Thee Every Hour

What is the doh of I Need Thee Every Hour?

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 I Need Thee Every Hour start on?

It starts on d (A♭ in Ab major), a pickup on the word “I” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is I Need Thee Every Hour in the public domain?

Yes. Annie Sherwood Hawks died in 1918, Robert Lowry died in 1899, Robert Lowry died in 1899; the words were first published in 1872 and the music in 1872. 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.