One Sweetly Solemn Thought in Tonic Solfa
One Sweetly Solemn Thought in Tonic Solfa to ST. BRIDE, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,One- | m,sweet--l,ly-dsol--t,emn- | l,thought-----dComes- |
| s,to-dme-mo’er-rand- | do’er,—-----mNear-- |
| rer-dmy-t,home-l,to- | s,day-f,am-m,I-mThan- |
| l,e’er-rI’ve-dbeen-t,be-- | l,fore;----- |
Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →
Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir
- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- m, to m (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. BRIDE
- Words
- Phoebe Cary
- Music
- Samuel Howard
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by Phoebe Cary (1824–1871). 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 Bb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er,—
Nearer my home to-day am I
Than e’er I’ve been before;
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where many mansions be;
Nearer to-day the great white throne;
Nearer the crystal sea;
Nearer the bound of life
Where burdens are laid down;
Nearer to leave the heavy cross;
Nearer to gain the crown.
But, lying dark between,
Winding down through the night,
There rolls the silent, unknown stream
That leads at last to light.
E’en now, perchance, my feet
Are slipping on the brink,
And I to-day am nearer home,
Nearer than now I think.
Father, perfect my trust;
Strengthen my spirit’s faith;
Nor let me stand at last alone
Upon the shore of death.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 l, (G), on the word “One”, 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
Phoebe Cary wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 531.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre (6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. BRIDE; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Phoebe Cary (1824–1871)
- Music (1762): Samuel Howard (died undefined)
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by Phoebe Cary (1824–1871).
Sung to the same tune: All Hail, Life-bearing Cross, Behold What Wondrous Grace, Exalt the Lord Our God, Here, in This Place of Prayer, How Blest the Righteous Are, In Weariness and Pain, Let God the Maker's Name, Let Party Names No More, Let Sinners Take Their Course, Lord What a Feeble Piece, My Saviour and My King, My Soul, Repeat His Praise, Not with Our Mortal Eyes, Now Let Our Voices Join, O Blessed Souls Are They, O Lord, Our Heavenly King, Out of the Deep I Call, Raise Your Triumphant Songs, Servants of Christ, Arise, Teach Me, My God and King, The Man Is Ever Blest, The Saviour Gently Calls, The Spirit, in Our Hearts, Thy Love Hath Sweetened Me, We Love This Outward World, When Man Grows Bold in Sin, Where Shall the Man Be Found, Who Has Believ'd Thy Word, Ye Servants of the Lord.
Questions about One Sweetly Solemn Thought
What is the doh of One Sweetly Solemn Thought?
In this version, in G minor, doh is Bb. 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 One Sweetly Solemn Thought start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the word “One” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is One Sweetly Solemn Thought in the public domain?
Yes. Phoebe Cary died in 1871, Samuel Howard died in undefined; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1762. 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.