Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway in Tonic Solfa
Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway in Tonic Solfa to SPANISH HYMN, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dLead--dust,with-dThy- | l,gen--dtle-s,sway,--- |
| mAs-da-fwill--ring- | dchild-t,is-dled;--- |
| mSpeed--musron-mour- | fup--mward-rway,--- |
| mAs--marpil--mgrim,- | fLord,-mis-rsped,--- |
| dWho--dwitht,prayers-dand- | l,helps-ddi--s,vine--- |
| mSeeks-da-fcon--rse-- | dcra--t,ted-dshrine.--- |
Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →
Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir
- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (A♭)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- SPANISH HYMN
- Words
- John Bowring
- Music
- Spanish Traditional, Benjamin Carr, David Evans
Tune SPANISH HYMN by Benjamin Carr (died undefined) and David Evans (1874–1948); words by John Bowring (1792–1872). 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 Ab · 4/4
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
Lead us with Thy gentle sway,
As a willing child is led;
Speed us on our upward way,
As a pilgrim, Lord, is sped,
Who with prayers and helps divine
Seeks a consecrated shrine.
Lead us, Father! Thou dost know
All the way; but, wanderers, we
Often miss our way below,
And stretch out our hands to Thee;
Guide us, save us, and prepare
Our appointed mansion there!
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♭).
- 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 Bowring wrote these words. They were printed in the supplement of the 1866 edition of A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1866), as hymn 502, “The Pilgrim's Prayer”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens, six lines (7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SPANISH HYMN; any other Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Bowring (1792–1872)
- Melody: Spanish Traditional
- Arranged (1822): Benjamin Carr (died undefined)
- Harmony (1927): David Evans (1874–1948)
Tune SPANISH HYMN by Benjamin Carr (died undefined) and David Evans (1874–1948); words by John Bowring (1792–1872).
Sung to the same tune: God of Mercy, God of Grace, In the Morning Sow Thy Seed, Lay Her Gently in the Dust, O Disclose Thy Lovely Face, Saviour, Cast a Pitying Eye, Saviour, Prince of Israel's Race, To the Father's Love We Trust, What Our Father Does Is Well, When Arise the Thoughts of Sin, When the Sun, with Cheerful Beams.
Questions about Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway
What is the doh of Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway?
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 Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway start on?
It starts on d (A♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway in the public domain?
Yes. John Bowring died in 1872, Benjamin Carr died in undefined, David Evans died in 1948; the words were in print by 1866 and the music in 1822. 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.