I Want a Sober Mind in Tonic Solfa

I Want a Sober Mind in Tonic Solfa to DIADEMATA, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

dI-dwantdamso--mber-

lmind,-----lA-

sself-dre--fnounc--ming-

rwill,-----rThat-

mtram--sples-ldown-sand-

fecasts-mbe-r_shind-d'The-

tbaits-d'of-lpleas--ling-

sill;-----sA-

ssoul-min--rured-dto-

lpain,-----lTo-

lhard--feship,-mgrief-rand-

tloss,-----tBold-

d'to--ttakelup,-sfirm-

fto-rsus--mtain-sThe-

fcon--mse--rcra--rted-

dcross.-------

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: d (D)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: DIADEMATA
Words: Anonymous
Music: George Job Elvey

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Anonymous. 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 D · 4/4

| d - d d m - m - I want a sober| l - - - - - l - |mind, A

| s - d - f - m - self renouncing| r - - - - - r - |will, That

| m - s - l - s - tramples down and| fe - m r s - d' - |casts behind The

| t - d' - l - l - baits of pleasing| s - - - - - s - |ill; A

| s - m - r - d - soul inured to| l - - - - - l - |pain, To

| l - fe - m - r - hardship, grief and| t - - - - - t - |loss, Bold

| d' - - t l - s - to take up, firm| f - r - m - s - |to sustain The

| f - m - r - r - consecrated| d - - - - - - - |cross.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A soul inured to pain,
To hardship, grief and loss,
Bold to take up, firm to sustain
The consecrated cross.

I want a godly fear,
A quick-discerning eye,
That looks to thee when sin is near,
And sees the tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared,
And armed with jealous care,
Forever standing on its guard,
And watching unto prayer.

I want a true regard,
A single, steady aim,
Unmoved by threatening or reward,
To thee and thy great name;
A zealous, just concern
For thine immortal praise;
A pure desire that all may learn
And glorify thy grace.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (D).
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

These words were printed without an author's name in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 416 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “For a Right Spirit”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre Double (6.6.8.6.6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to DIADEMATA; any other Short Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Anonymous
Melody (1868): George Job Elvey (1816–1893)

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Anonymous.

Sung to the same tune: Ah Whither Should I Go, Ah, When Shall I Awake, And Am I Born to Die, Crown Him with Many Crowns, Equip Me for the War, Father of Boundless Grace, Gracious Redeemer, Shake, Great Source of Life and Light, Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold, I Was a Wandering Sheep, I Will Not Yield My Sword, In Fellowship, Alone, It Is the Hour of Prayer, Jesu, We Look to Thee, Jesus, My Strength, My Hope, Lord, When at Thy Command, My God, My Strength, My Hope, My Sin Was Very Great, O God, in Mercy Hear, O That I Could Repent, O Thou Who Wouldst Not Have, O Unexhausted Grace, Soldiers of Christ, Arise, Sow in the Morn Thy Seed, Sweet Is the Time of Spring, The Thing My God Doth Hate, We Mourn for Those Who Toil.

Questions about I Want a Sober Mind

What is the doh of I Want a Sober Mind?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Want a Sober Mind start on?

It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is I Want a Sober Mind in the public domain?

Yes. George Job Elvey died in 1893; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1868. 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.