We Love This Outward World in Tonic Solfa
We Love This Outward World in Tonic Solfa to ST. BRIDE, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,We- | m,love-l,this-dout--t,ward- | l,world,-----dIts- |
| s,fair-dsky-mo--rver-- | dhead,-----mIts- |
| rmorn--ding's-t,soft,-l,gray- | s,mist-f,un--m,furled,-mIts- |
| l,sun--rsets-drich-t,and- | l,red.----- |
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- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- m, to m (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. BRIDE
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Samuel Howard
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); 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 Bb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
We love this outward world,
Its fair sky overhead, —
Its morning's soft, gray mist unfurled,
Its sunsets rich and red.
But there's a world within
That higher glory hath;
A life the immortal soul must win, —
The life of joy and faith.
For this the Father's love
Doth shade the world of sense,
The bounding play of health remove,
And dim the sparkling glance;
That, though the earth grows dull
And earthly pleasures few,
The spirit gain its wisdom full
To suffer and to do.
Holy its world within,
Unknown to sound or sight, —
The world of victory o'er sin,
Of faith, and love, and light.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 l, (G), on the word “We”, 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
These words were printed without an author's name in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 339, “The Meaning of Sorrow”.
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 ST. BRIDE; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1762): Samuel Howard (died undefined)
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: All Hail, Life-bearing Cross, Behold What Wondrous Grace, Exalt the Lord Our God, Here, in This Place of Prayer, How Blest the Righteous Are, In Weariness and Pain, Let God the Maker's Name, Let Party Names No More, Let Sinners Take Their Course, Lord What a Feeble Piece, My Saviour and My King, My Soul, Repeat His Praise, Not with Our Mortal Eyes, Now Let Our Voices Join, O Blessed Souls Are They, O Lord, Our Heavenly King, One Sweetly Solemn Thought, Out of the Deep I Call, Raise Your Triumphant Songs, Servants of Christ, Arise, Teach Me, My God and King, The Man Is Ever Blest, The Saviour Gently Calls, The Spirit, in Our Hearts, Thy Love Hath Sweetened Me, When Man Grows Bold in Sin, Where Shall the Man Be Found, Who Has Believ'd Thy Word, Ye Servants of the Lord.
Questions about We Love This Outward World
What is the doh of We Love This Outward World?
In this version, in G minor, doh is Bb. 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 We Love This Outward World start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the word “We” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is We Love This Outward World in the public domain?
Yes. Samuel Howard died in undefined; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1762. 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.