Bible Songs — Miscellaneous

Have I need of aught, O Saviour

No. 1215
Tune ONLY THEE.
Words Corie F. Davis.
Music Dr. W. O. Perkins.
Key B-flat major
Singing key B♭ major
Time 3/4
4 stanzas

Words

Have I need of aught, O Saviour!Aught on earth but thee?Have I any in the heavens,Any one but thee?

Chorus.

Only thee,Only thee,only thee,only thee,O the wondrous love shown me!Only thee,Only thee,only thee,only thee,None on earth but thee.

Though I have of friends so many,Love, and gold, and health,If I have not thee, my Saviour,Hold I any wealth?

Is there heart so kind and patientWith my failings all?Or a voice so true and ready,Answering my call?

Not for worlds would I exchange it,—This sweet faith in thee!Earthly treasures cannot equalAll thou art to me.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: hymn number «1215» (large, left), title «ONLY THEE.» centred (condensed capitals with larger initials); under it the epigraph in two lines, «"For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?"—Mark 8 : 36, 37.» («profit a» is set so tight that it looks like «profita»: two words); «CORIE F. DAVIS.» at the left and «DR. W. O. PERKINS.» at the right (capitals and small capitals; an ink blot covers most of «DR.»); no meter, no reference line and no running head are printed. The four stanzas are interlinear, «1.»–«4.» before the lines of system 1. The chorus, headed «CHORUS.», is printed once (systems 3 and 4) and is sung after every stanza. In the chorus the soprano sings «Only thee,» and holds «thee,» while the alto, tenor and bass answer «Only thee,» / «only thee,» on a second, lower lyric row (twice in each system); those echo lines are indented below. «Copyrighted 1881 by J. E. White.» is printed under the music, above the page number «433» (the signature mark «28» stands at the foot, left). The print sets a thin space before «?», «!» and «:» («soul ?», «Saviour !», «thee ?», «8 : 36»); it is closed up here. Words divided under the notes are joined («Sav-iour», «ma-ny», «pa-tient», «ex-change», «fail-ings», «a-ny», «heav-ens», «A-ny», «read-y», «An-swer-ing», «Earth-ly», «treas-ures», «can-not», «e-qual», «On-ly» → «Saviour», «many», «patient», «exchange», «failings», «any», «heavens», «Any», «ready», «Answering», «Earthly», «treasures», «cannot», «equal», «Only»); «wondrous» is printed whole under two notes. Each stanza is set in its four verse lines (8.5.8.5), each beginning with a capital as printed (the print runs two verse lines on each staff line). Spelling («Saviour», «aught»), punctuation (the dash of «exchange it,—») and capitals are the print's.