Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die in Tonic Solfa
Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die in Tonic Solfa to INNOCENTS, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mSin---fners, | sturn;-d'why-twill-lye- | sdie?---dGod,--ryour |
| mMak--ser,-fasks-myou—-- | rWhy?---mGod,--fwho |
| sdid-d'your-tbe--ling- | sgive,---dMade--ryou |
| mwith-fHim--mself-rto- | dlive.--- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (F♯)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- INNOCENTS
- Words
- Charles Wesley
- Music
- French Melody, 13th cent., ascr., George Frederick Handel, The Parish Choir, London
Tune INNOCENTS by ascr., George Frederick Handel (died undefined); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Sinners, turn; why will ye die?
God, your Maker, asks you—Why?
God, who did your being give,
Made you with Himself to live.
He the fatal cause demands,
Asks the work of His own hands,
Why, ye thankless creatures, why
Will ye cross His love and die?
Sinners, turn; why will ye die?
God, your Savior, asks you—Why?
He, who did your souls retrieve,
Died Himself that you might live.
Will ye let Him die in vain,
Crucify your Lord again?
Why, ye ransomed sinners, why
Will ye slight His grace and die?
Sinners, turn; why will ye die?
God the Spirit asks you—Why?
He, who all your lifetime strove,
Wooed you to embrace His love.
Will ye not His grace receive?
Will ye still refuse to live?
O ye long-sought sinners, why
Will ye grieve your God and die?
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 m (F♯), on the first syllable of “Sinners”, 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
Charles Wesley wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 48.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens (7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to INNOCENTS; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Melody: French Melody, 13th cent.
- Music (1728): ascr., George Frederick Handel (died undefined)
- Melody (1850): The Parish Choir, London
Tune INNOCENTS by ascr., George Frederick Handel (died undefined); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).
Sung to the same tune: Day by Day the Manna Fell, Forest Beasts, That Live by Prey, God of Mercy, Hear Our Prayer, Hail, All Hail the Joyful Morn, Hail, Thou Blessed Cross, All Hail, Hark, My Soul! It Is the Lord, In the Dark of Early Morn, In Thy Courts Let Peace Be Found, Lord, My Times Are in Thy Hand, Peace! the Welcome Sound Proclaim, Seems It in My Anguish Lone, Slowly, by God's Hand Unfurled, Softly Fades the Twilight Ray, Songs of Praise the Angels Sang, They, Who on the Lord Rely, To Thy Temple I Repair, When Before Thy Throne We Kneel, Winter Has a Joy for Me.
Questions about Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die
What is the doh of Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die?
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 Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die start on?
It starts on m (F♯ in D major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Sinners” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Sinners, Turn; Why Will Ye Die in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, ascr., George Frederick Handel died in undefined; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1728. 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.