Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish in Tonic Solfa
Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish in Tonic Solfa to STUTTGART, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Pil--s,lows,-dwet-dwith- | rtears-rof-man--dguish,- |
| sCouch--ses,-lpressed-fin- | rsleep--sless-mwoe,--- |
| mWhere-mthe-rsons-mof- | dBe--rlial-dlan--t,guish,- |
| dFa--l,ther,-s,may-dwe- | dnev--t,er-dknow!--- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to l (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- STUTTGART
- Words
- John Pierpont
- Music
- Psalmodia Sacra, Gotha, Christian F. Witt, Johann G. C. Storl, Henry John Gauntlett
Tune STUTTGART by Christian F. Witt (died 1716), Johann G. C. Storl (died 1719) and Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); words by John Pierpont (1785–1866). 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 · 4/4
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
Pillows, wet with tears of anguish,
Couches, pressed in sleepless woe,
Where the sons of Belial languish,
Father, may we never know!
For, the maddening cup shall never
To our thirsting lips be pressed,
But, our draft shall be, forever,
The cold water thou hast blessed.
This shall give us strength to labor,
This, make all our stores increase;
This, with thee and with our neighbor,
Bind us in the bonds of peace.
For the lake, the well, the river,
Water-brook and crystal spring,
Do we now, to thee, the Giver,
Thanks, our daily tribute, bring.
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).
- 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
John Pierpont wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 794 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Morning Hymn for Family Worship”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to STUTTGART; any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Pierpont (1785–1866)
- Melody (1715): Psalmodia Sacra, Gotha
- Music, attributed: Christian F. Witt (died 1716)
- Music, attributed: Johann G. C. Storl (died 1719)
- Arranged (1861): Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876)
Tune STUTTGART by Christian F. Witt (died 1716), Johann G. C. Storl (died 1719) and Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); words by John Pierpont (1785–1866).
Sung to the same tune: All Around Us, Fair with Flowers, From the Father’s Throne Descending, Hark! What Mean Those Holy Voices, Onward, Christian, Though the Region.
Questions about Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish
What is the doh of Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish?
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 Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Pillows, Wet with Tears of Anguish in the public domain?
Yes. John Pierpont died in 1866, Christian F. Witt died in 1716, Johann G. C. Storl died in 1719, Henry John Gauntlett died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1715. 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.