Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure in Tonic Solfa
Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure in Tonic Solfa to GREENLAND, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mShall- | smen-spre--stend-sto- | d'plea----msure-mWho- |
| rnev--rer-fknew-fthe- | mLord?-----rCan- |
| mall-sthe-sworld--sling's- | d'trea----fesure-feTrue- |
| speace-lof-tmind-laf-- | sford?-----tThey- |
| d'shall-sob--ftain-mthis- | mjew----rel-tIn- |
| d'what-stheir-fhearts-mde-- | rsire,-----s,When- |
| dthey-mby-sad---seding | tfu----lel-lCan- |
| squench-mthe-mflame--rof | dfire.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- s, to d' (B♭ to E♭)
- Tune
- GREENLAND
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Johann Michael Haydn, B. Jacob
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); 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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Shall men pretend to pleasure
Who never knew the Lord?
Can all the worldling's treasure
True peace of mind afford?
They shall obtain this jewel
In what their hearts desire,
When they by adding fuel
Can quench the flame of fire.
Till you can bid the ocean,
When furious tempests roar,
Forget its wonted motion,
And rage, and swell, no more:
In vain your expectation
To find content in sin;
Or freedom from vexation,
While passions reign within.
Come, turn your thoughts to Jesus,
If you would good possess;
'Tis he alone that frees us
From guilt, and from distress:
When he, by faith, is present,
The sinner's troubles cease;
His ways are truly pleasant,
And all his paths are peace.
Our time in sin we wasted,
And fed upon the wind;
Until his love we tasted,
No comfort could we find:
But now we stand to witness
His pow'r and grace to you;
May you perceive its fitness,
And call upon him too!
Our pleasure and our duty,
Though opposite before;
Since we have seen his beauty,
Are joined to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure,
No less than duty's call;
To love him beyond measure,
And serve him with our all.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (G), on the word “Shall”, 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 fe 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 III, hymn 3, “We were once as you are”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to GREENLAND; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music: Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806)
- Arranged (National Psalmody, 1819): B. Jacob (died undefined)
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: How Blest, Amid All Blessing, Light of the Gentile Nations, O God of Our Salvation, The Heavens Declare His Glory, The Morning Light Is Breaking, We Come with Joy and Gladness, When Shall the Voice of Singing.
Questions about Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure
What is the doh of Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Shall” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Johann Michael Haydn died in 1806, B. Jacob died in undefined; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1819. 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.