Bible Songs — Miscellaneous

What Shall I Do?

What shall I do for Christ, my Saviour?

No. 1226
Tune WHAT SHALL I DO?
Words F. E. B.
Music F. E. Belden.
Key G major
Singing key F major
Time 9/8
3 stanzas

Words

What shall I do for Christ, my Saviour?How shall I pay the debt I owe?He has redeemed me out of bondage,What shall I do my love to show?

Chorus.

This will I do for Jesus, my Saviour,This will I do my love to show:Tell of his goodness, tell of his mercy,Walk in his footsteps here below.

First will I tell him I have wandered,Ask him to take me back again,Ask him that I may be forgiven,Ask him to take away my sin.

Then will I take the blessed Bible,Searching it well, that I may beAble to help some one to love him,—Jesus, my Lord, who first loved me.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: hymn number «1226» (large, left), title «WHAT SHALL I DO?» centred (condensed capitals and small capitals, «What Shall I Do?»); under it, centred, the epigraph «"And the people asked Him, saying, What shall we do?"—Luke 3 : 10.» (old-style figures); on the next line «F. E. B.» at the left (words) and «F. E. BELDEN.» at the right (music, capitals and small capitals). No meter, no tune name other than the title, no reference line (the stanza text is 9.8.9.8, the chorus 10.8.10.8). All three stanzas are interlinear, numbered «1.»–«3.», between the staves of systems 1–2; «CHORUS.» (bold capitals) stands over system 3, and the chorus words are printed once, under systems 3–4; the chorus is sung after every stanza. Under the music, centred: «Copyrighted 1886 by The J. E. White Pub. Co.» Each printed line of words carries two verse lines; they are given here one verse line per line. The print sets a thin space before «?» and «:» («Saviour ?», «owe ?», «show :»); it is closed up here; curly quotes are written straight. Words printed with syllable hyphens under the staves («bless - ed», «Bi - ble», «a - gain», «for - giv-en», «a - way», «A - ble», «Je - sus», «mer-cy», «foot-steps», «be - low») are joined here; the hyphenation as printed is in `lyrics_syllables.txt`. Stanza 3 reads «Searching it weil,» in the print (a printer's slip for «well,» — kept as printed; see `uncertainties.md`).