O Come All Ye Faithful
Willcocks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

O come, all ye faithful
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

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee
Born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be glory given
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
Christ the Lord

Overall Meaning

The song "O Come All Ye Faithful" was originally written in Latin as "Adeste Fideles" in the 1700s. The composer is unknown, but it is believed to have been written by John Francis Wade or John Reading. The English translation of the song is by Frederick Oakeley (1841) and William Thomas Brooke (1881). The song was later adapted and arranged by Sir David Willcocks in the 1960s.

The lyrics of the song tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The first stanza invites all the faithful to come and witness the birth of the King of Angels. The second stanza encourages all to adore Him, and the third stanza acknowledges the Father and welcomes the Word in flesh before them. The song concludes with a call to adore Christ the Lord.

The song is typically performed during the Christmas season and is often sung in churches and in Christmas carol services. It is characterized by its uplifting and joyful tone, reflecting the joyous nature of the birth of Jesus.

Line by Line Meaning

O come, all ye faithful
Oh, come, everyone who has faith

Joyful and triumphant
Happily and victoriously

O come ye, O come ye
Please come, please come

To Bethlehem
To the town of Bethlehem

Come and behold him
Come and see him

Born the King of angels
He was born as the King of angels

O come, let us adore Him
Oh, let us worship him

O Come, let us adore Him
Oh, let us worship him

Christ the Lord
He is the Lord Jesus Christ

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee
Yes, Lord, we welcome you

Born this happy morning
Born on this joyful morning

Jesus, to Thee be glory given
Jesus, we give you glory

Word of the Father
He is the Son of the Father

Now in flesh appearing
Now appearing in human form

Christ the Lord
He is the Lord Jesus Christ

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Traditional

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@jamesmanningok

1y↑262

Hands up if you’re here for The Chord.

@heatherrussell8255

🤚

@isaacodunayo7772

🤝

@gezeldadrun1998

25w

@sophia6_8hemiola-circleof5

19w

✋

@backtoschool1611

19w

👋🤚

2 More Replies...

@appelanseeofbogalusa5235

2y↑107

3:36. THAT is the chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord.

@dwightoxley8551

1y↑3

Doubt that

@rather-reverend

1y↑22

@Dwight Oxley But then ... you don't really care for music, do ya? ;-)

@duvidl58

1y↑1

There was no tonal harmony in biblical times. From what I've heard, the music of the Jews in biblical times probably sounded like music of ancient greece, which was monophonic. Even the word "harmony" as we use it today is a mistranslation of what it meant in the time of the Greeks. They never played two notes together at the same time.

@larryglass5135

1y↑23

Genius arrangement by Willcocks. A half-diminished seventh and subsequent chords resolving to that chorus - astounding!

@melissagivens4677

4y↑90

That moment at 3:36 when they sing "Word of the Father" on that amazing chord? Christmas.

@fergusbyett8088

4y↑5

Goosebumps!

@tbraun84

3y↑4

@Fergus Byett Every time - even after hearing it many times!

@stevesam1982

2y↑1

Bm7-5

@stevesam1982

2y↑3

Loved the very last line too.. what a thinking by this genius. The bass line for the last line of the refrain usually goes descending. Here he’s arranged in ascent in chromatic.

@charlottegodbolt5138

2y↑3

@Steve Sam otherwise also known as B half-diminished ;-)

2 More Replies...

@gonzalogonzalez9960

1y↑15

I'm so glad it's already time to hear THAT chord.

@PoeCompany

2y↑37

It’s not Christmas until the chord on Word is sung. And then it’s Christmas. That’s all.

@joecarr2224

2y↑3

Also, the striking, signature harmonization of the fifth syllable in, F A I T H (full), No other arrangement gets the joy and majesty of the Nativity right!

@timothyj.mannion5210

1y↑1

Absolutely the very truth.

@maestrobjwa90

1y↑1

THIS

@markchapman6800

1y↑7

What gives the Word chord its special appeal is not only that particular crunch, but also the momentary diversion into the subdominant. See also the end of the B Minor Mass (Dona Nobis Pacem, bar 42) and Messiah (Amen, bar 81) respectively, and Bach even makes the relevant chord half-diminished as opposed to Handel's "mere" dominant 7th.

@user-qz4hq6wr7v

What is about the chord? Could you explain? Thank you~

@markchapman6800

1y↑1

@윤나들이 B-D-F-A is a half-diminished seventh (diminished fifth between the B and F - in a fully-diminished seventh the A would be flat so there would be a diminished fifth between it and the D too) which is the same as a ninth chord on G, but with the G missing. As I said, it sounds even more striking because it's not the half-diminished seventh in G, which would be F#-A-C-E, but momentarily dips into the subdominant key of C instead. Hope this helps.

@ebdev7741

4y↑16

Excellent. Where do I get scores for hymns like this?

@felicityburbridgerinde6922

3y↑5

"Carols for Choirs" fra Oxford University Press, 5 volumes, but you get most of the traditional ones if you order volume 1 and 2

@sandywenner6679

1y↑1

Doesn’t get any better than this.

@misssophie6515

2y↑21

3:35 those chords OMG

@williamstephens9945

I live the funky harmony and descant in verse 6!

@stevenottomanyi154

1y↑14

3:36 WORD OF THE FATHER

@judithmiller6346

1y↑4

For me, I believe music is a gift from God and I am grateful for all the glorious chords that touch my deepest emotions!

@tiyenin

1y↑1

You'll like this god-giv'n cover, then: https://youtu.be/6Ih-VFAETuY

@debojyotipanda938

1y↑1

The opening chords remind me of God Save the Queen

@adlibruj

1y↑2

I love it! But I don't get it, since I'm not a mathematician musician.

@ultramet

1y↑8

In the beginning (of Chorale music) was The Chord 3:36

@carolynfuruya9295

1y↑3

Can anyone explain to me (a dumb non-musician/mathematician) why this chord is so important? I can appreciate that it sounds pleasing, but do not see how it stands out as spectacular. Thanks!

@ScottKnitter

1y↑14

There's a tradition among organists of re-harmonizing the final stanza of a hymn, which means not playing all the chords as printed but doing the harmony differently for dramatic effect that puts the hymn tune/melody in a new light. The late Sir David Willcocks of King's College, Cambridge, did this with the final stanza of O Come, All Ye Faithful, and wrote it down for publication. His reharmonization includes a particularly "crunchy" (unusual, harmonically complex, unexpected) chord on "Word." So the chord and its buildup a few notes before are designed to highlight the word "Word" (used here as another description of Jesus Christ) in an almost unhinged way, yet it fits in amazingly well and goes on to the familiar refrain very smoothly. Many find it spine-tingling. It's certainly a great climax to the hymn, traditionally sung at the beginning of the Christmas Eve (often midnight) service. We've been hearing The Chord for many Christmases but it's become a bit of a celebrity in its own right in recent years.

@carolynfuruya9295

1y↑3

@Scott Knitter thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful explanation! I finally understand now and after listening to The Chord again, have a new appreciation.

@ScottKnitter

@Carolyn Furuya I’m so glad this helped you!

@VaughanMcAlley

19w↑1

@@ScottKnitter The thing that makes this verse even more special is that the last verse begins with the words “Yea Lord we greet Thee, born this happy morning” which makes it inappropriate to sing before Christmas Day. Willcocks set the descant to the second last verse, so that it works on its own without the final verse. For choristers who may have sung the truncated version more than once throughout December, the final verse (and especially The Chord) can be the culmination of the long choral lead-up to Christmas. It is also often the last thing we will sing in a while, so there is no need so save our voices!

@lukedaniell

3y↑4

2:12

@mrtchaikovsky3208

28w↑1

Judging from the comments, I may very well be alone with my opinion, for I am not particularly taken by the final harmonisation, which comes off as contrived. Ah well, de gustibus etc.