Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs in Tonic Solfa
Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs in Tonic Solfa to SAVED BY GRACE, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mThoumartfthe | mWay--rands,herwho | dsighs--dA-t,middthis | fstar---mlessrwaste-,l,of | rwoe--mTomfindfa |
| mpath---rways,torthe | dskies,--mArlightmfrom | sheaven'sfe-mter---rnal | dglow--mBymtheesmust |
| scome,--lthoumGatesof | slove,--sThroughswhichfthe | fsaintssun-tdoubt---ling | strod,--mTillmfaithsdis- |
| scov---lers,mlikesthe | sdove,--sAnsark,da | drest-fingmplace--rin | dGod.-- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- s, to t (C to E, a tenth)
- Tune
- SAVED BY GRACE
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- George C. Stebbins
Tune SAVED BY GRACE by George C. Stebbins (1846–1945); words by Anonymous. 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 F · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Thou art the Way — and he who sighs
Amid this starless waste of woe
To find a pathway to the skies,
A light from heaven's eternal glow —
By thee must come, thou Gate of love,
Through which the saints undoubting trod,
Till faith discovers, like the dove,
An ark, a resting-place in God.
Thou art the Truth — whose steady day
Shines on through earthly blight and bloom,
The pure, the everlasting ray,
The lamp that shines e'en in the tomb;
The light that out of darkness springs,
And guideth those that blindly go;
The word whose precious radiance flings
Its lustre upon all below.
Thou art the Life — the blessed well,
With living waters gushing o'er,
Which those that drink shall ever dwell
Where sin and thirst are known no more.
Thou art the mystic pillar given,
Our lamp by night, our light by day;
Thou art the sacred bread from heaven;
Thou art the Life — the Truth — the Way.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (A), on the word “Thou”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- 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
These words were printed without an author's name in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 243 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre Double (8.8.8.8.8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SAVED BY GRACE; any other Long Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1894): George C. Stebbins (1846–1945)
Tune SAVED BY GRACE by George C. Stebbins (1846–1945); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: Let Not the Wise His Wisdom Boast, Not Only Doth the Voiceful Day, Saved by Grace, When Called, O Lord, to Mourn the Doom, When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains.
Questions about Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs
What is the doh of Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs start on?
It starts on m (A in F major), a pickup on the word “Thou” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs in the public domain?
Yes. George C. Stebbins died in 1945; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1894. 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.