What a Mournful Life Is Mine in Tonic Solfa
What a Mournful Life Is Mine in Tonic Solfa to ST. BEES, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 9 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dWhat-da-dmourn---t,ful | l,life-t,is-dmine,--- |
| rFill-rwith-mcross--s,es,- | l,pains-rand-t,cares!--- |
| rEv--fery-mwork--dde- | t,filed-rwith-dsin,--- |
| dEv--rery-dstep-dbe-- | dset--t,withdsnares!--- |
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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
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune ST. BEES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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
What a mournful life is mine,
Fill with crosses, pains and cares!
Every work defiled with sin,
Every step beset with snares!
If alone I pensive fit,
I myself can hardly bear;
If I pass along the street,
Sin and riot triumph there.
Jesus! how my heart is pained,
How it mourns for souls deceived!
When I hear thy name profaned,
When I see thy Spirit grieved!
When thy children's griefs I view,
Their distress becomes my own;
All I hear, or see, or do,
Makes me tremble, weep and groan.
Mourning thus I long had been,
When I heard my Savior's voice;
Thou hast cause to mourn for sin,
But in me thou may'st rejoice."
This kind word dispelled my grief,
Put to silence my complaints;
Though of sinners I am chief,
He his ranked me with his saints.
Though constrained to dwell a while
Where the wicked strive and brawl;
Let them frown; so he but smile,
Heav'n will make amends for all.
There, believers, we shall rest,
Free from sorrow, sin and fears;
Nothing there our peace molests,
Through eternal rounds of years.
Let us then the fight endure,
See our Captain looking down;
He will make the conquest sure,
And bestow the promised crown.
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
John Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book I, hymn 51, “Dwelling in Mesech. Ps 120:5-7”.
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: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music (1862): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune ST. BEES by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
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, There's a Strife We All Must Wage, While the Stars Unnumbered Roll.
Questions about What a Mournful Life Is Mine
What is the doh of What a Mournful Life Is Mine?
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 What a Mournful Life Is Mine start on?
It starts on d (A♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is What a Mournful Life Is Mine in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1779 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.