Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul in Tonic Solfa

Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul in Tonic Solfa to RATISBON (WERNER), doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4
sSa--svior-lshine-tand-d'cheer-d'my-tsoul,---
lBid-d'my-sdy--ming-fhopes-rre--dvive;---
mMake-mmy-rwoun--mded-fspir--fit-mwhole,---
mFar-la--seway-lthe-ttemp--tter-ldrive:---
d'Speak-lthe-sword-mand-fset-fme-mfree,---
lLet-lme-slive-ma--rlone-rto-dthee.---

Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →

Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir

Key
D major
Doh
D
Time
4/4
Starts on
s (A)
Range
d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune
RATISBON (WERNER)
Words
John Newton
Music
Werner's Choralbuch, William Henry Havergal

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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 D · 4/4

| s - s - l - t - Savior shine and| d' - d' - t - - - |cheer my soul,
| l - d' - s - m - Bid my dying| f - r - d - - - |hopes revive;
| m - m - r - m - Make my wounded| f - f - m - - - |spirit whole,
| m - l - se - l - Far away the| t - t - l - - - |tempter drive:
| d' - l - s - m - Speak the word and| f - f - m - - - |set me free,
| l - l - s - m - Let me live a-| r - r - d - - - |lone to thee.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The words

Savior shine and cheer my soul,
Bid my dying hopes revive;
Make my wounded spirit whole,
Far away the tempter drive:
Speak the word and set me free,
Let me live alone to thee.

Shall I sigh and pray in vain,
Wilt thou still refuse to hear;
Wilt thou not return again,
Must I yield to black despair?
Thou hast taught my heart to pray,
Canst thou turn thy face away?

Once I thought my mountain strong,
Firmly fixed no more to move;
Then thy grace was all my song,
Then my soul was filled with love:
Those were happy golden days,
Sweetly spent in prayer and praise.

When my friends have said, "Beware,
Soon or late you'll find a change;"
I could see no cause for fear,
Vain their caution seemed and strange:
Not a cloud obscured my sky,
Could I think a tempest nigh?

Little, then, myself I knew,
Little thought of Satan's pow'r;
Now I find their words were true,
Now I feel the stormy hour!
Sin has put my joys to flight,
Sin has changed my day to night.

Satan asks, and mocks my woe,
"Boaster, where is now your God?"
Silence, Lord, this cruel foe,
Let him know I'm bought with blood:
Tell him, since I know thy name,
Though I change thou art the same.

How to sing it from the solfa

  • Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (A).
  • 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 se. 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 Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book I, hymn 44, “The change”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens, six lines (7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to RATISBON (WERNER); any other Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by John Newton (1725–1807).

Sung to the same tune: As the Hart, with Eager Looks, Centre of Our Hopes Thou Art, Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies, Ever Patient, Loving, Meek, Holy Spirit, Come with Power, It Is Finished! Glorious Word, Jesu, Shepherd of the Sheep, Jesus, I Believe Thee Near, Jesus, While He Dwelt Below, Lamb of God, Who Bear'st Away, On Thy Church, O Power Divine, Praise to God, Immortal Praise, Quiet, Lord, My Froward Heart, Safely Through Another Week, Weary Souls, That Wander Wide, When the Parting Bosom Bleeds, Who Shall Towards Thy Chosen Seat.

Questions about Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul

What is the doh of Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul start on?

It starts on s (A in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul in the public domain?

Yes. John Newton died in 1807, William Henry Havergal died in 1870; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1815. 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.

More by John Newton

Everything by John Newton (228 hymns)

More by William Henry Havergal

Everything by William Henry Havergal (19 hymns and 3 hymn tunes)