Zion! the City of Our God in Tonic Solfa

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.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.

The words

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 d (F), on the first syllable of “Zion”, 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 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 II, hymn 24, “Asking the way to Zion. Jer 1:5”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre (8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. FLAVIAN; any other Common Metre tune fits them as well.

• Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
• Melody (1563): From Day's Psalter, 1563

Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. FLAVIAN (From Day's Psalter, 1563); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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: 'Twas God Who Fixed the Rolling Spheres, "How Awful Is Thy Chastening Rod!", "Now from the Roaring Lion's Rage, "O, Not for These Alone I Pray,", "To God Be Glory! Peace on Earth!", "Yet (Saith the Lord) If David's Race, A Holy Air Is Breathing Round, A Soldier's Course, from Battles Won, Afflictions, Though They Seem Severe, Again Our Earthly Cares We Leave, All Ye That Love the Lord, Rejoice, Am I a Soldier of the Cross, Amidst Thy Wrath Remember Love, And Are We Wretches Yet Alive, Arise My Soul, My Joyful Powers, Baptized into Our Saviour's Death, Bear on, My Soul! the Bitter Cross, Behold My Servant; See Him Rise, Behold the Savior of Mankind, Behold, Where, in a Mortal Form, Beneath Our Feet and O'er Our Head, Beneath the Tyrant Satan's Yoke, Blest Are the Souls That Hear and Know, Come Let Us Lift Our Voices High, Faith, Hope, and Love, Now Dwell on Earth, Father in Heaven, to Whom Our Hearts, Father of All! in Every Age, Fear Was Within the Tossing Bark, From Every Fear and Doubt, O Lord, Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name, Glory to God! Whose Witness-train, God Is a Spirit Just and Wise, God My Supporter and My Hope, God of My Childhood and My Youth, God of Our Mercy and Our Praise, Great Ruler of All Nature's Frame, Hail! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, Heal Us, Emmanuel, Here We Are, Hear Me, O God, nor Hide Thy Face, How David, When by Sin Deceived, How Precious Is the Book Divine, How Sweet and Awful Is the Place, How Wond'rous Great, How Glorious Bright, I Hate the Tempter and His Charms, I Sing My Saviour's Wondrous Death, In the Soft Season of Thy Youth, Jesu, the Life, the Truth, the Way, Jesu, the Word of Mercy Give, Jesus, My Lord, I Cry to Thee, Jesus, with All Thy Saints Above, Let Zion and Her Sons Rejoice, Lo the Destroying Angel Flies, Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days, Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice, Lord, in Whose Might the Saviour Trod, Lord, We Have Heard Thy Works of Old, Lord! Thou Art Good: All Nature Shows, Lord! We Believe a Rest Remains, My God, My Everlasting Hope, My God, My Portion, and My Love, My God, What Endless Pleasures Dwell, Nay, Tell Us Not of Dangers Dire, Not All the Outward Forms on Earth, Not for the Summer's Hour Alone, Not in the Church-yard Shall He Sleep, Now Shall My Solemn Vows Be Paid, O for an Overcoming Faith, O Jesus, King Most Wonderful, O Lord, Our Languid Souls Inspire, O Thou, to Whom All Creatures Bow, O, I Shall Envy Them No More, Of Justice and of Grace I Sing, Our Country Is Immanuel's Ground, Our Fathers, Lord, to Seek a Spot, Praise Ye the Lord; on Every Height, Rejoice, Believer, in the Lord, Sing, All Ye Nations, to the Lord, Speak Gently, — It Is Better Far, Summoned My Labour to Renew, Sweet Day! So Cool, So Calm, So Bright, Sweet Is the Prayer Whose Holy Stream, Ten Thousand Talents Once I Owed, The Dead Are Like the Stars by Day, The Lord, Descending from Above, The Prophets Sons, in Time of Old, The True Messiah Now Appears, There Is a Book, Who Runs May Read, Thou Son of God, Whose Flaming Eyes, Thus I Resolv'd Before the Lord, Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love, Thy Message, by the Preacher, Seal, Thy Way Is on the Deep, O Lord, Time! What an Empty Vapor 'Tis, To Our Redeemer’s Glorious Name, When Christ to Judgment Shall Descend, When Israel Was from Egypt Freed, When Peter Boasted, Soon He Fell, When the Great Judge, Supreme and Just, When the Worn Spirit Wants Repose, Whence Do Our Mournful Thoughts Arise, Why Do the Wealthy Wicked Boast, With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud, Ye Saints Exult with Cheerful Song, Ye Sons of Earth Prepare the Plow, Ye Trembling Souls, Dismiss Your Fears, Ye Wretched, Hungry, Starving Poor.