Once in Royal David’s City in Tonic Solfa
Once in Royal David’s City in Tonic Solfa to IRBY, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all six verses and a piano.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (C)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- IRBY
- Words
- Cecil Frances Alexander
- Music
- Henry John Gauntlett
Tune IRBY by Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); words by Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,Once-t,in- | droy---daldDa-t,_dvid’sr_ | rcit--dy-dStood-ma- |
| slow---mlymcat-r_dtlet,_ | dshed,---s,Where-t,a- |
| dmoth---derdlaidt,_dherr_ | rba--dby-dIn-ma- |
| sman---mgermforr_dHist,_ | dbed:---lMa--lry- |
| swas--dthatfmoth--fer- | mmild,---lJe--lsus- |
| sChrist--mhermlit-r_dtlet,_ | dchild.--- |
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
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
And through all His wondrous childhood
He would honour and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden,
In whose gentle arms He lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.
For He is our childhood’s pattern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heaven above,
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.
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 s, (C), on the word “Once”, 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. 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
Cecil Frances Alexander wrote this carol for her Hymns for Little Children (1848), to teach the line of the Creed 'born of the Virgin Mary'. Henry John Gauntlett set it to the tune IRBY the next year. Since 1919 it has opened the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge.
- Words, Hymns for Little Children (1848): Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895)
- Melody (1849): Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876)
Tune IRBY by Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); words by Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895).
Questions about Once in Royal David’s City
What is the doh of Once in Royal David’s City?
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 Once in Royal David’s City start on?
It starts on s, (C in F major), a pickup on the word “Once” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Once in Royal David’s City in the public domain?
Yes. Cecil Frances Alexander died in 1895, Henry John Gauntlett died in 1876; the words were first published in 1848 and the music in 1849. 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.