Jesu, Shall I Never Be in Tonic Solfa
Jesu, Shall I Never Be in Tonic Solfa to HEINLEIN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 13 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mJe--msu,-l,shall-t,I- | dnev--rer-mbe--- |
| mFirm--mly-sground--sed- | feup--feon-mthee?--- |
| mNev--mer-fby-fthy- | rwork-ra--mbide,--- |
| mNev--mer-rin-dthy- | t,wounds-t,re--l,side?--- |
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- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- l, to s (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HEINLEIN
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
- Music
- Martin Herbst, Nurnberg
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); 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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Jesu, shall I never be
Firmly grounded upon thee?
Never by thy work abide,
Never in thy wounds reside?
O how wavering is my mind,
Tossed about with every wind!
O how quickly doth my heart
From the living God depart!
Jesu, let my nature feel,
Thou art God unchangeable:
Jah, Jehovah, great I AM,
Speak into my soul thy name.
Grant that every moment I
May believe, and feel thee nigh;
Steadfastly behold thy face,
Stablished with abiding grace.
Plant, and root, and fix in me
All the mind that was in thee;
Settled peace I then shall find;
Jesu's is a quiet mind.
Anger I no more shall feel,
Always even, always still,
Meekly on my God reclined;
Jesu's is a gentle mind.
I shall suffer and fulfil
All my Father's gracious will,
Be in all alike resigned;
Jesu's is a patient mind.
When 'tis deeply rooted here,
Perfect love shall cast out fear;
Fear doth servile spirits bind;
Jesu's is a noble mind.
When I feel it fixed within,
I shall have no power to sin;
How shall sin an entrance find?
Jesu's is a spotless mind.
I shall nothing know beside
Jesus, and him crucified;
Perfectly to him be joined;
Jesu's is a loving mind.
I shall triumph evermore,
Gratefully my God adore,
God so good, so true, so kind;
Jesu's is a thankful mind.
Lowly, loving, meek, and pure,
I shall to the end endure,
Be no more to sin inclined;
Jesu's is a constant mind.
I shall fully be restored
To the image of my Lord,
Witnessing to all mankind,
Jesu's is a perfect mind.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (A).
- 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
John Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 355. 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 Sevens (7.7.7.7), and this page sets them to HEINLEIN; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music, attributed (1676): Martin Herbst (died undefined)
- Music (1676): Nurnberg (died undefined)
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791).
Sung to the same tune: All Ye Nations, Praise the Lord, As the Sun's Enliv'ning Eye, Bless, O Lord, Each Opening Year, Child, Amidst the Flowers at Play, Clay to Clay, and Dust to Dust, Father! We Look Up to Thee, Forty Days and Forty Nights, Gently Fall the Dews of Eve, Heavenly Father! to Whose Eye, High, in Yonder Realms of Light, Let Me Dwell on Golgotha, Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills, Lord! Subdue Our Selfish Will, Mighty One, Before Whose Face, Now the Shades of Night Are Gone, Praise, O Praise Our God and King, See, the World for Youth Prepares, Sin, When Viewed by Scripture Light, Soul! Celestial in Thy Birth, Thine Forever, God of Love, Thou Who Roll’st the Year Around, While I Lived Without the Lord.
Questions about Jesu, Shall I Never Be
What is the doh of Jesu, Shall I Never Be?
In this version, in D minor, doh is F. 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 Jesu, Shall I Never Be start on?
It starts on m (A in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Jesu, Shall I Never Be in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, Martin Herbst died in undefined, Nurnberg died in undefined; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1676. 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.