My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love in Tonic Solfa
My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love in Tonic Solfa to LYONS, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 7 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,My- | dFa--dther,-rmy- | mGod,---dI- | flong-ffor-mthy- | rlove,---s,O- |
| dshed-dit-ra-- | mbroad;---fSend- | sChrist-,f_mfrom-ra-- | dbove!---s,My- |
| s,heart-s,ev--l,er- | t,faint--t,ing,-dHe- | ron--rly-mcan- | fcheer,---s,And- |
| dall-dthings-rare- | mwant--ming,-fTill- | sJe--,f_msus-ris- | dhere.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- LYONS
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
Tune LYONS by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and William Gardiner (1770–1853); 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 Ab · 3/4
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
My Father, my God, I long for thy love,
O shed it abroad; Send Christ from above!
My heart ever fainting, He only can cheer,
And all things are wanting, Till Jesus is here.
O when shall my tongue Be filled with thy praise!
While all the day long I publish thy grace,
Thy honour and glory To sinners forth show,
Till sinners adore thee, And own thou art true.
Thy strength and thy power I now can proclaim,
Preserved every hour Through Jesus's name;
For thou art still by me, And holdest my hand;
No ill can come nigh me, By faith while I stand.
My God is my guide; Thy mercies abound,
On every side They compass me round;
Thou sav'st me from sickness, From sin dost retrieve,
And strengthen my weakness, And bid me believe.
Thou holdest my soul In spiritual life,
My foes dost control, And quiet their strife;
Thou rulest my passion, My pride and self-will,
To see thy salvation, Thou bidd'st me "Stand still!"
I stand, and admire Thine outstretched arm,
I walk through the fire, And suffer no harm;
Assaulted by evil, I scorn to submit,
The world and the devil Fall under my feet.
I wrestle not now, But trample on sin,
For with me art thou, And shalt be within;
While stronger and stronger In Jesus's power,
I go on to conquer, Till sin is no more.
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 s, (E♭), on the word “My”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- 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 Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 200. 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 10.10.11.11, and this page sets them to LYONS; any other 10.10.11.11 tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music: Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806)
- Music (Sacred Melodies, 1815): William Gardiner (1770–1853)
Tune LYONS by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and William Gardiner (1770–1853); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791).
Sung to the same tune: All Thanks to the Lamb, Who Gives Us to Meet, Appointed by Thee, We Meet in Thy Name, O Heavenly King, Look Down from Above, O Worship the King, Omnipotent Lord, My Saviour and King, Thy Faithfulness, Lord, Each Moment We Find, Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim.
Questions about My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love
What is the doh of My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love?
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 My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love start on?
It starts on s, (E♭ in Ab major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is My Father, My God, I Long for Thy Love in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, Johann Michael Haydn died in 1806, William Gardiner died in 1853; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1815. 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.