Lamp of Our Feet in Tonic Solfa
Lamp of Our Feet in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 11 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to f (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- ST. AGNES
- Words
- Bernard Barton
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. AGNES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Bernard Barton (1784–1849). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mLamp-mof-mour- | rfeet!---mwhere-- | fby---t,we- | dtrace----- |
| s,Our-s,path,-s,when- | mwont---rto- | rstray;----- | fStream-ffrom-mthe- |
| rfount---dof- | t,heav'n----l,ly- | s,grace!----- | s,Brook-l,by-dthe- |
| mtrav----r'ler's- | dway!----- |
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 G · 3/4
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
Lamp of our feet! whereby we trace
Our path, when wont to stray;
Stream from the fount of heav'nly grace!
Brook by the trav'ler's way!
Bread of our souls! whereon we feed;
True manna from on high!
Our guide, and chart wherein we read
Of realms beyond the sky.
Pillar of fire—through watches dark!
Or radiant cloud by day!
When waves would whelm our tossing bark—
Our anchor and our stay!
Pole—star on life's tempestuous deep!
Beacon! when doubts surround;
Compass! by which our course we keep;
Our deep sea—lead, to sound!
Riches in poverty! our aid
In every needful hour!
Unshaken rock! the pilgrim's shade;
The soldier's fortress tow'r.
Our shield and buckler in the fight!
Vict'ry's triumphant palm!
Comfort in grief! in weakness, might!
In sickness, Gilead's balm.
Childhood's preceptor! manhood's trust!
Old age's firm ally!
Our hope\-when we go down to dust,
Of immortality.
Pure oracles of truth divine!
Unlike each fabled dream
Given forth from Delphos' mystic shrine
Or groves of Academe!
Word of the ever-living God!
Will of His glorious Son!
Without Thee, how could earth be trod?
Or Heaven itself be won?
Yet to unfold thy hidden worth,
Thy mysteries to reveal,
That Spirit which first gave thee forth,
Thy volume must unseal!
And we, if we aright would learn
The wisdom it imparts,
Must to its heavenly teaching turn
With simple, child-like hearts!
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 m (B).
- 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
The words are by Bernard Barton, first published in 1826. The tune, ST. AGNES, is by John Bacchus Dykes (1866). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1826): Bernard Barton (1784–1849)
- Music (1866): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. AGNES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Bernard Barton (1784–1849). 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 Lamp of Our Feet
What is the doh of Lamp of Our Feet?
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 Lamp of Our Feet start on?
It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Lamp of Our Feet in the public domain?
Yes. Bernard Barton died in 1849, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were first published in 1826 and the music in 1866. 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.