O Little Town of Bethlehem in Tonic Solfa
O Little Town of Bethlehem in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- ST. LOUIS
- Words
- Phillips Brooks
- Music
- Lewis Henry Redner
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. LOUIS by Lewis Henry Redner (1830–1908); words by Phillips Brooks (1835–1893). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mO- | mlit--mtle-retown-mof- | sBeth--fle--l,hem,-rhow- |
| dstill-t,wed_rsee-s,thee- | mlie!-----mA-- |
| mbove-mthy-ldeep-sand- | sdream--fless-l,sleep-rthe- |
| dsi--t,lentd_mstars-rgo- | dby.-----mYet- |
| min-mthy-rdark-dstreets- | t,shin----t,eth-t,the- |
| l,ev--t,er--dlast--ring- | mLight;-----mThe- |
| mhopes-mand-refears-mof- | sall-fthe-l,years-lare- |
| smet-din-mthee--rto- | dnight.----- |
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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond'ring love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!
How silently, how silently,
the wondrous Gift is giv'n;
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His Heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy pray to the blessèd
Child, Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (A), on the word “O”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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 re. 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 Phillips Brooks, first published in 1867. The tune, ST. LOUIS, is by Lewis Henry Redner (1868). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1867): Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)
- Music (1868): Lewis Henry Redner (1830–1908)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. LOUIS by Lewis Henry Redner (1830–1908); words by Phillips Brooks (1835–1893). 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.
Questions about O Little Town of Bethlehem
What is the doh of O Little Town of Bethlehem?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 O Little Town of Bethlehem start on?
It starts on m (A in F major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is O Little Town of Bethlehem in the public domain?
Yes. Phillips Brooks died in 1893, Lewis Henry Redner died in 1908; the words were first published in 1867 and the music in 1868. 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.