Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs in Tonic Solfa
Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs in Tonic Solfa: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses and a piano.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- d to l (E♭ to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- EVENTIDE
- Words
- Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth
- Music
- William Henry Monk
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVENTIDE by William Henry Monk (1823–1889); words by Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth (1825–1906). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mNot---mwor--rthy,- | dLord,---sto--- |
| lga--sther-sup-fthe- | mcrumbs------- |
| mWith---ftrem--sbling- | lhand---sthat--- |
| ffrom-rThy-mta--feble- | sfall,------- |
| mA---mwea--rry,- | dhea----svy--- |
| sla--fden-fsin--mner- | rcomes------- |
| rTo---mplead-fThy- | mpro--rmise-dand-fo-- |
| mbey---rThy--- | dcall.------- |
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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Not worthy, Lord, to gather up the crumbs
With trembling hand that from Thy table fall,
A weary, heavy laden sinner comes
To plead Thy promise and obey Thy call.
I am not worthy to be thought Thy child,
Nor sit the last and lowest at Thy board;
Too long a wanderer and too oft beguiled;
I only ask one reconciling word.
One word from Thee, my Lord, one smile, one look,
And I could face the cold, rough world again;
And with that treasure in my heart could brook
The wrath of devils and the scorn of men.
And is not mercy Thy prerogative—
Free mercy, boundless, fathomless, divine?
Me, Lord, the chief of sinners, me forgive,
And Thine the greater glory, only Thine.
I hear Thy voice; Thou bid'st me come and rest;
I come, I kneel, I clasp Thy piercèd feet;
Thou bid'st me take my place, a welcome guest
Among Thy saints, and of Thy banquet eat.
My praise can only breathe itself in prayer,
My prayer can only lose itself in Thee;
Dwell Thou forever in my heart, and there,
Lord, let me sup with Thee; sup Thou with me.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (G).
- 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 and the chromatic fe. 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 Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth, first published in 1872. The tune, EVENTIDE, is by William Henry Monk (1861). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1872): Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth (1825–1906)
- Melody (1861): William Henry Monk (1823–1889)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EVENTIDE by William Henry Monk (1823–1889); words by Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth (1825–1906). 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.
Sung to the same tune: Abide with Me.
Questions about Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs
What is the doh of Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Not Worthy, Lord, to Gather Up the Crumbs in the public domain?
Yes. Edward Henry Jr. Bickersteth died in 1906, William Henry Monk died in 1889; the words were first published in 1872 and the music in 1861. 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.