My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway in Tonic Solfa
My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway in Tonic Solfa to HIGHER GROUND, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Mys,God!dall | mna---mturerownsdThy | l,sway;--rThoudgiv'stl,the | s,night--dandmThoudthe | rday:--s,Whens,alldThy |
| mloved--mcre-ra-dtion | l,wakes,--rWhendmorn-l,ing, | s,richdinmlus--rtre,- | dbreaks,--s,Anddbathesmin |
| sdew--sth'o-fpeningmflo- | fwer,--s,Tot,Theerwe | fowe--fhermfra-rgrant | mhour;--sAndswhenmshe |
| dpours--mherrcho-dral | l,song,--rHerdme-l,lo- | s,diesdtomThee-rbe-- | dlong.-- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- HIGHER GROUND
- Words
- Helen Maria Williams
Tune HIGHER GROUND by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856–1932); words by Helen Maria Williams (1759–1827). 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 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
My God! all nature owns Thy sway;
Thou giv'st the night and Thou the day:
When all Thy loved creation wakes,
When morning, rich in lustre, breaks,
And bathes in dew the opening flower,
To Thee we owe her fragrant hour;
And when she pours her choral song,
Her melodies to Thee belong.
Or when, in paler tints arrayed,
The evening slowly spreads her shade,
That soothing shade, that grateful gloom,
Can, more than day's enlivening bloom,
Still every fond and vain desire,
And calmer, purer thoughts inspire;
From earth the longing spirit free,
And lead the softened heart to Thee.
As o'er Thy work the seasons roll,
And soothe, with change of bliss, the soul,
O, never may their smiling train
Pass o'er the human sense in vain!
But, oft as on their charms we gaze,
Attune the wondering soul to praise;
And be the joys that most we prize
The joys that from Thy favor rise!
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 s, (D), 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.
- 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
Helen Maria Williams 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 86, “God in Nature”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre Double (8.8.8.8.8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to HIGHER GROUND; any other Long Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Helen Maria Williams (1759–1827)
- Music (1902): Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856–1932)
Tune HIGHER GROUND by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856–1932); words by Helen Maria Williams (1759–1827).
Sung to the same tune: Higher Ground, Our Father God! Not Face to Face.
Questions about My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway
What is the doh of My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway?
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 My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major), a pickup on the word “My” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is My God! All Nature Owns Thy Sway in the public domain?
Yes. Helen Maria Williams died in 1827, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel died in 1932; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1902. 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.