The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
O Come All Ye Faithful
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
The lyrics to The Chieftains' rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful are a call to all believers to come to Bethlehem and witness the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of Angels. The song begins with an invitation to all the faithful to come and adore Jesus, who has been born in Bethlehem. The chorus repeats this call to worship Christ the Lord. The second verse brings the imagery of the angels into the lyrics. Singing in exultation, they rejoice with all those who hear God's holy word on this special occasion. The angels are called upon to give glory to God in the Highest. The final verse greets Jesus, born on this happy morning. Here he is addressed as the Word of the Father, now appearing in the flesh. The song ends with the final call to come and adore Christ the Lord.
Line by Line Meaning
O Come All Ye Faithful
Let all those who have faith come together
Joyful and triumphant,
Be full of joy and victorious
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him,
See Him
Born the King of Angels;
He is the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him,
Let us worship Him
Sing in exultation,
Sing with joy
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Sing God's holy word to all those who can hear in heaven
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
Praise our Father in the highest place
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Greetings to our Lord
Born this happy morning,
Born on this joyful morning
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Jesus, may your name always be worshiped
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
The embodiment of the word of the Father
Christ the Lord.
He is Christ, the Lord.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TRADITIONAL, PAUL BATEMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist