To Keep the Lamp Alive in Tonic Solfa
To Keep the Lamp Alive in Tonic Solfa to BOYLSTON, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sTo- | mkeepftheslamp-la-- | slive---d'With- | d'oiltwelfill-lthe- | sbowl;---s'Tis- |
| mwa-ftersmakes-sthe- | lwil-tlowd'thrive,-tAnd- | d'gracelthatsfeeds-sthe- | ssoul.--- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- m to d' (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- BOYLSTON
- Words
- William Cowper
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by William Cowper (1731–1800). 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 C · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
To keep the lamp alive
With oil we fill the bowl;
'Tis water makes the willow thrive,
And grace that feeds the soul.
The Lord'S unsparing hand
Supplies the living stream
It is not at our own command,
But still derived from him.
Beware of Peter's word,
Nor confidently say,
"I never will deny thee, Lord,"
But grant I never may.
Man's wisdom is to seek
His strength in God alone;
And e'en an angel would be weak,
Who trusted in his own.
Retreat beneath his wings,
And in his grace confide;
This more exalts the King of kings
Than all your works beside.
In Jesus is our store,
Grace issues from his throne;
Whoever says, "I want no more,"
Confesses he has none.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 s (G), on the word “To”, 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.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d 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
William Cowper wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book III, hymn 74, “Dependance”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre (6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to BOYLSTON; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: William Cowper (1731–1800)
- Music (1832): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by William Cowper (1731–1800). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: 'Tis God the Spirit Leads, A Charge to Keep I Have, And Is There, Lord, a Rest, And Will the Judge Descend, Behold the Throne of Grace, Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston), Come to the Land of Peace, Come, Holy Spirit, Come, Come, Ye That Love the Lord, God of Eternal Love, God of the Prophets' Power, Hail to the Sabbath Day, How Beauteous Are Their Feet, How Pleasing, Lord! to See, Hush the Loud Cannon's Roar, I Lift My Soul to God, In God's Eternity, Is This the Kind Return, Let Every Ear Attend, Not All the Blood of Beasts, Not in the Name of Pride, Not What These Hands Have Done, Now at This Evening Hour, O Come and Dwell in Me, O God, My Strength, My Hope, O Lord, Thy Perfect Word, O, Cease, My Wandering Soul, Out of the Depths of Woe, Stand, Soldier of the Cross, The Day Is Past and Gone, The Lord Declares His Will, The Savior Hides His Face, Thou Must Be Born Again, To Him Who Children Blest, When on the Cruel Cross, When Overwhelm'd with Grief, When Thou Shalt Come, O Lord, Where Is Thy Sting, O Death, Ye Sons of Earth, Arise.
Questions about To Keep the Lamp Alive
What is the doh of To Keep the Lamp Alive?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 To Keep the Lamp Alive start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “To” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is To Keep the Lamp Alive in the public domain?
Yes. William Cowper died in 1800, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1832. 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.