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Free chord chart

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Words: John Francis Wade, c. 1743; tr. Frederick Oakeley, 1841 · Tune "Adeste Fideles" · Public domain

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Verse 1

GO come, Bmall Gye C6faith-Dful, Gjoy-Dful Gand Ctri-Gum-Dphant,

EmO come Dye, AO Dcome ye Gto DBethlehem;

Bmcome Amand Gbe-Am7hold Ghim, Dborn Gthe EmKing Amof Dangels;

Refrain (after every verse)

GO come, Dlet Gus Am7a-Gdore him,

GO come, Dlet Gus Am7a-Gdore Dhim,

GO D7come, Glet Dus Em7a-Ddore Ghim, CChrist Gthe DLord!G_

Verse 2

GSing, Bmchoirs Gof C6an-Dgels, Gsing Din Gex-Cul-Gta-Dtion,

Emsing, all Dye Acit-Dizens Gof Dheav'n above;

Bmglo-Amry Gto Am7God, Gall Dglo-Gry Emin Amthe Dhighest;

Verse 3

GYea, BmLord, Gwe C6greet Dthee, Gborn Dthis Ghap-Cpy Gmorn-Ding;

EmJesus, Dto Athee Dbe all Gglo-Dry given;

BmWord Amof Gthe Am7Fa-Gther, Dnow Gin Emflesh Amap-Dpearing;

DJesus, Gto Thee Dbe all Gglory  given;

DWord Emof the CFather, Gnow in  flesh D7appearing;

Chords in the key of G

About this hymn

Words
Latin original Adeste Fideles, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743-1751; English translation by Frederick Oakeley, 1841
Music
ADESTE FIDELES, attributed to John Francis Wade
Meter
Irregular with refrain
In
848 hymnals
Scripture
Luke 2:1-20, John 1:1-18, Philippians 2:9-11

The story

Nobody has settled who wrote this. John Francis Wade gets the credit on most hymnal pages, but John Reading, King John IV of Portugal, and anonymous Cistercian monks have all been proposed. The oldest source anyone can point to is a Wade manuscript dated 1751, held at Stonyhurst College in England, while Hymnary dates the Latin around 1743. The tune picked up the nickname Portuguese Hymn after the Duke of Leeds heard it at the Portuguese embassy chapel in London in 1795. Frederick Oakeley, an English Catholic priest, made the 1841 English version, and the text we sing combines his work with later verse translations by William Thomas Brooke.

Where it fits in a service

Often used as a processional on Christmas Eve or Christmas Sunday, and as an opening hymn in the last weeks of Advent. The refrain invites everybody in, so it carries a full room well.

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Why these chords work

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Online lessons, by ear, from the author of the book — a camera on the keys and this hymn ready for Sunday.

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