There's a Strife We All Must Wage in Tonic Solfa
There's a Strife We All Must Wage in Tonic Solfa to ST. BEES, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThere's-da-dstrife--t,we | l,all-t,must-dwage,--- |
| rFrom-rlife's-men--s,trance- | l,to-rits-t,close;--- |
| rBlest-fthe-mbold--dwho | t,dare-ren--dgage!--- |
| dWoe-rfor-dhim-dwho- | dseeks--t,re-dpose!--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (A♭)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- ST. BEES
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune ST. BEES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch (1809–1870). 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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
There's a strife we all must wage,
From life's entrance to its close;
Blest the bold who dare engage!
Woe for him who seeks repose!
Honored they who firmly stand,
While the conflict presses round;
God's own banner in their hand,
In his service faithful found.
What our foes? Each thought impure
Passions fierce, that tear the soul;
Every ill that we can cure;
Every crime we can control;
Every suffering which our hand
Can with soothing care assuage;
Every evil of our land;
Every error of our age.
On, then, to the glorious field!
He who dies his life shall save;
God himself shall be our shield,
He shall bless and crown the brave.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 (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. 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
Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 319, “Struggle”.
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 ST. BEES; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch (1809–1870)
- Music (1862): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune ST. BEES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch (1809–1870).
Sung to the same tune: 'Tis a Point I Long to Know, "Give Us Room, That We May Dwell,", Children of the Heavenly King, Father, Hear Us When We Pray, Feeble, Helpless, How Shall I, For Thy Mercy and Thy Grace, Hark! a Voice Divides the Sky, Honey Though the Bee Prepares, Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord, Lord, We Come Before Thee Now, Lord! Deliver; Thou Canst Save, Nay, I Cannot Let Thee Go, Now Let Us Come Before Him, Now May Fervent Prayer Arise, Partners of a Glorious Hope, What a Mournful Life Is Mine, While the Stars Unnumbered Roll.
Questions about There's a Strife We All Must Wage
What is the doh of There's a Strife We All Must Wage?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 There's a Strife We All Must Wage start on?
It starts on d (A♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is There's a Strife We All Must Wage in the public domain?
Yes. Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch died in 1870, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1862. 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.