The Galilean Fishers Toil in Tonic Solfa
The Galilean Fishers Toil in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to l (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- OLD 137TH
- Words
- Christopher Wordsworth
- Music
- From Day's Psalter, 1563
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune OLD 137TH (From Day's Psalter, 1563); words by Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dThe- | t,Ga--l,li--s,le--dan- | mfish--rers-dtoil-dall- |
| rnight,-mand-fno--rthing- | mtake;-----mBut- |
| rJe--dsus-t,comes,‑-da- | l,won--l,drous-s,spoil-s,is- |
| dlift--red-mfrom-rthe- | dlake.-----s,Lord,- |
| dwhen-rour-mla--dbors- | fare-fin-mvain-dand- |
| l,vain-t,the-dhelp-rof- | dmen,-----dWhen- |
| mfruit--fless-sis-sour- | lcare-land-spain,-mCome- |
| rbless--med-fJe--rsus- | dthen!----- |
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 WhatsApp message to the choir.
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
The Galilean fishers toil
all night, and nothing take;
But Jesus comes—a wondrous spoil
is lifted from the lake.
Lord, when our labors are in vain
and vain the help of men,
When fruitless is our care and pain,
Come blessed Jesus then!
The night is dark, the surges fill the bark, the wild winds roar;
But Jesus comes and all is still—the ship is at the shore.
O Lord, when storms around us howl, and all is dark and drear,
In all the tempests of the soul,
O blessed Jesus hear.
A frail one, thrice denying Thee
saw mercy in Thine eyes,
The penitent upon the tree
was borne to Paradise.
In hours of sin and deep distress
o show us, Lord, Thy Face,
In penitential loneliness,
O give us Jesus grace!
The faithful few retire in fear
to their closed upper room;
But suddenly with joyful cheer
they see their Master come.
Lord come to us, unloose our bands
and bid our terrors cease,
Lift over us Thy blessed hands,
Speak, holy Jesus Peace!
In days, when faith will scarce be found,
and wolves be in the fold,
When sin and sorrow will abound
and charity wax cold,
Then hear Thy saints, who to Thee pray
to bring them to their home,
Hear when the Bride and Spirit say,
"Come, Blessed Jesus, Come!"
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 d (G), on the word “The”, 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
The words are by Christopher Wordsworth, first published in 1865. The tune, OLD 137TH, is from Day's Psalter, 1563. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1865): Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885)
- Melody (1563): From Day's Psalter, 1563
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune OLD 137TH (From Day's Psalter, 1563); words by Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Questions about The Galilean Fishers Toil
What is the doh of The Galilean Fishers Toil?
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 The Galilean Fishers Toil start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Galilean Fishers Toil in the public domain?
Yes. Christopher Wordsworth died in 1885; the words were first published in 1865 and the music in 1563. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.