Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Text by Henry van Dyke (1907). Music adapted from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, "Ode to Joy" (1824). Public domain in all jurisdictions.
Verse 1
DJoy-ful, joy-ful, Awe a-dore DThee, God of Aglo-ry, DLord of Alove
DHearts un-fold like Gflow'rs be-fore DThee, o-p'ning Ato the Dsun a-Above
DMelt the clouds of Asin and sad-Dness, drive the Adark of Ddoubt a-Away
DGiv-er of im-Gmor-tal Dglad-ness, fill us Awith the Dlight of Aday
Verse 2
DAll Thy works with Ajoy sur-round DThee, earth and Aheav'n re-Dflect Thy Arays
DStars and an-gels Gsing a-round DThee, cen-ter Aof un-Dbro-ken Apraise
DField and for-est, Avale and Dmoun-tain, flow-ery Amea-dow, Dflash-ing Asea
DChant-ing bird and Gflow-ing Dfoun-tain, call us Ato re-Djoice in AThee
Verse 3
DThou art giv-ing Aand for-giv-Ding, ev-er Abless-ing, Dev-er Ablest
DWell-spring of the Gjoy of Dliv-ing, o-cean Adepth of Dhap-py Arest
DThou our Fa-ther, AChrist our DBro-ther, all who Alive in Dlove are AThine
DTeach us how to Glove each Do-ther, lift us Ato the Djoy di-Avine
Verse 4
DMor-tals, join the Ahap-py Dcho-rus which the Amorn-ing Dstars be-Agan
DFa-ther love is Greign-ing Do'er us, bro-ther Alove binds Dman to Aman
DEv-er sing-ing, Amarch we Don-ward, vic-tors Ain the Dmidst of Astrife
DJoy-ful mu-sic Gleads us Dsun-ward in the Atri-umph Dsong of Alife
Structure
Playing Tips
🎸 Strum Pattern — Verse
Joyful Joyful is adapted from Beethoven's Ode to Joy at 96 BPM, so it moves quickly. We strum four consistent downstrokes per measure on the verses and keep the rhythm tight. The melody is energetic and joyful, so match that energy in the strum. Do not slow down between the D and A chord changes.
🔊 Dynamics
This hymn is unambiguously joyful, and we lead it that way from the start. Full band from verse 1 is appropriate here. The text celebrates creation, nature, and divine love, and the congregation responds to energy. We actually play this hymn faster than the notated tempo when the room is engaged.
🎵 Band Direction
Piano is at home with the Beethoven melody. Keys should lead with confidence, full voicings, and a slight rhythmic push on the offbeats. Bass walks the chord changes cleanly. Drums play a driving pattern with the kick on beat 1 and snare on 3. Avoid fills that interrupt the melody line.
🎤 Vocal
Key of D is comfortable for this hymn. The melody sits in the middle of the staff for most voices and does not require high notes. Because the melody is widely recognized from the Ode to Joy, the congregation tends to jump in quickly. On verse 4, encourage everyone to sing out on "Joyful music leads us sunward."
→ Transitions
We move from verse to verse without pausing. The four verses are one continuous song of joy, and stopping between them breaks the momentum. A quick two-bar instrumental echo of the last phrase keeps the band locked in and signals the congregation that another verse is coming.