O Come O Come Emmanuel
Whitney Houston Lyrics


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O come o come Emanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the son of God appears

Rejoice, rejoice
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(Bumm, bumm, bumm, bumm)
Ah well, ooh
(Bumm, bumm, bumm)

O come, desire of nations, bind
Bind as one the hearts of all mankind
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
And be thyself our king of peace

(Rejoice) rejoice (rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (rejoice) rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(O Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(O Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall
(Shall come)

He's gonna come o Israel
(Shall come)
Don't you worry, God's gonna be there
(Emanuel shall come)
Emanuel, He's gonna come




O Israel
Ooh yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Whitney Houston's song O Come O Come Emanuel speak of longing and hope for the coming of Emanuel, or Jesus Christ, to save the captive Israelites. The first stanza speaks of Israel being in exile and mourning until the son of God appears to ransom them. This is a reference to the biblical story of the Israelites being taken captive by the Babylonians and being in a state of despair until they were eventually redeemed by God. The second stanza talks about Jesus as the desired one of all nations, and that his coming will unite mankind and put an end to divisions and conflicts. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus brought peace and salvation to humanity, and these lyrics reflect that hope and anticipation.


The singer's soulful and melodic voice adds to the emotional weight of the song, and the chorus of "Rejoice, rejoice, Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel" is a call to celebrate the coming of Jesus and the redemption he brings. This song is often sung during Advent, the Christian season leading up to Christmas, as a reminder of the hope and joy that the birth of Jesus brings.


Line by Line Meaning

O come o come Emanuel
Come, Emmanuel


And ransom captive Israel
Pay the price for the release of Israel


That mourns in lonely exile here
Israel is in exile and is lonely and sad


Until the son of God appears
Until the arrival of the Messiah


Rejoice, rejoice
Be happy


Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
The Messiah will come to Israel


(Bumm, bumm, bumm, bumm)
Instrumental interlude


O come, desire of nations, bind
Come, unify the nations


Bind as one the hearts of all mankind
Join the hearts of all humanity


Bid thou our sad divisions cease
Put an end to our sad separations


And be thyself our king of peace
Be our leader of peace


(Rejoice) rejoice (rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Be joyful


Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
The Messiah will come to Israel


(Israel, come to thee)
The people of Israel will be reunited


Rejoice (rejoice) rejoice (Ooh)
Be happy


Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
The Messiah will come to Israel


(O Israel, come to thee)
The people of Israel will be reunited


Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Be happy


Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
The Messiah will come to Israel


(O Israel, come to thee)
The people of Israel will be reunited


Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Be happy


Emanuel shall (Shall come)
The Messiah will come


He's gonna come o Israel (Shall come)
The Messiah will come to Israel


Don't you worry, God's gonna be there (Emanuel shall come)
Do not worry, God will be present when the Messiah comes


Emanuel, He's gonna come O Israel Ooh yeah
The Messiah, He will come to Israel




Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DECEMBERGIRL MUSIC
Written by: Mervyn Edwin Warren

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

JeJe Palmer

O come o come Emanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the son of God appears
Rejoice, rejoice
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
Ah well, ooh
(Bumm, bumm, bumm)
O come, desire of nations, bind
Bind as one the hearts of all mankind
Bid thou our sad divisions cease
And be thyself our king of peace
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (rejoice) rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(O Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel
(O Israel, come to thee)
Rejoice (Rejoice) Rejoice (Ooh)
Emanuel shall
(Shall come)
He's gonna come o Israel
(Shall come)
Don't you worry, God's gonna be there
(Emanuel shall come)
Emanuel, He's gonna come
O Israel
Ooh yeah



All comments from YouTube:

Omar Dia

This is THE BEST placement and redition of pure runs of an entire song ive ever heard! Of course she is WHITNEY.... the GREATEST singer that ever lived period.

Klion39

@Keir Lennon Take 6 harmony is flawless along with Nippy's sick vocals. Nippy could do anything vocally extremely vocally agile.

Keir Lennon

Exactly! Same goes for Take 6 on the background vocal arrangements.

timmy841212

Whitney BEASTED on this entire song. Oh my God... those RUNS!!!

Lucky 🍀 Chucky

That run at 2:49 sent chills down my spine Jesus!! I love You Whitney! You will always be the Voice!! 🤗😍😘

Autumn Rose

You can't learn runs like that. I've heard the use of melisma time and time again, but her rendition of this song shows what sets her apart. Her runs are complex and flow out of her so fast and smooth and effortlessly. She's so natural with it, even without her full voice potential. This is why she's the queen of runs.

E W

Whitney could do what Kim could do but could Kim or anyone truly replicate Whitney?....I think we all know the answer to that....this ending made me stop in my tracks, Whitney just quietly blowing my mind yet again

ogkush1916

+antionette davis if you listen to both you can see why Whitney love Kim's voice they do similar runs n have similar approaches to singing

Autumn Rose

+antionette davis Yes, Whitney loved Kim. I think Kim is great too. As far as runs, you can probably lend the title "Queen of Runs" to a number of gospel singers. However, outside of the gospel realm, I give it to Whitney. I also prefer the sound of Whitney's.

antionette davis

+Autumn Rose Kim Burrell is the master and queen of runs...and Whitney looked p to her

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