O Come, All Ye Faithful
Christmas Carols Explained, #25
Well here we are, cats. The Big Day itself. What better way to close out this beautiful project than to hit you with the ol’ Adeste Fideles?
Much like the Mayflower Pilgrims, we might not have this particular piece of seasonal beauty if it weren’t for the time-honored tradition of England expelling things from its borders of which it was not tolerant, namely, other religions.
Yes Virginia, while the origins of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” are not completely clear, we can at least trace it back to Englishman John Francis Wade in the 1740s, who was exiled in France because he had this pesky little condition called “Catholicism.” England would persecute Charles Carroll for the same thing, even going so far as to bar him from practicing law, which is why his name is on the Declaration of Independence, but I digress.
Wade’s Catholicism is a likely reason that the original song comes to us in Latin, hence “Adeste Fideles.” The lyrics announce Christ’s birth, list off His titles, and invite hearers to come worship Him.
I wasn’t able to confirm whether Wade also wrote the English translation or if that came later. There definitely was another English Catholic a hundred years after Wade, named Frederick Oakeley, who rendered an English-language version.
Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte, Regem Angelorum;
Venite adoremus,
venite adoremus,
venite adoremus
Dominum!
I like the sound of Latin, and my Spanish helps me glean the meaning of the words, along with my familiarity of the English.
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!
I chose Bing Crosby’s arrangement specifically for his unique voice and the fact that he threw the Latin version in there. In actuality there are eight verses to this song in both languages, and I don’t think I’ve ever sung through all of them. Maybe someday.
Merry Christmas, one and all. Let’s remember what it is and why we have it. The presents are nice, the pageantry is fun, but the delivery of a Savior is our greatest source of happiness.
Thank you for following this project. I’m glad I finally did it.