Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray in Tonic Solfa
Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray in Tonic Solfa to HOLLINGSIDE, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLord,-shave-lmer--scy- | swhen--fwempray--- |
| d'Strength-tto-lseek-sa- | mbet--dter-rway;--- |
| mWhen-sour-lwak--sening- | sthoughts--fbe-mgin--- |
| mFirst-fto-mloathe-rtheir- | mcher---risheddsin;--- |
| dWhen-four-mwea--fry- | taspi--lrits-sfail,--- |
| lAnd-lour-ta--d'ching- | fbrows-mare-rpale;--- |
| mThen-sThy-lstrength--sening- | sgrace--faf-mford;--- |
| mThen,-fO,-mthen,-rhave- | mmer---rcy,dLord!--- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (F♯)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- HOLLINGSIDE
- Words
- Henry Hart Milman
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868). 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
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
Lord, have mercy when we pray
Strength to seek a better way;
When our wakening thoughts begin
First to loathe their cherished sin;
When our weary spirits fail,
And our aching brows are pale;
Then Thy strengthening grace afford;
Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!
Lord, have mercy when we know
First how vain this world below;
When its darker thoughts oppress,
Doubts perplex, and fears distress;
When the earliest gleam is given
Of the bright but distant heaven;
Then Thy strengthening grace afford;
Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!
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 m (F♯).
- 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 ta. 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
Henry Hart Milman wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 204, “Lord, Have Mercy”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to HOLLINGSIDE; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868)
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868).
Sung to the same tune: A Believer, Free from Care, After All That I Have Done, Depth of Mercy! Can There Be, Does the Gospel-word Proclaim, Fix My Heart and Eyes on Thine, Hark! the Song of Jubilee, Let Us Join, ('Tis God Commands), Let Us Join, as God Commands, Lord, in Heaven, Thy Dwelling-place, Pilgrim, Burdened with Thy Sin, See How Great a Flame Aspires.
Questions about Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray
What is the doh of Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray?
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 Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray start on?
It starts on m (F♯ in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray in the public domain?
Yes. Henry Hart Milman died in 1868, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1861. 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.