The O Come All Ye Faithful chords in G are G, D, C, Em, Am, A7 and D7, and the same seven work on guitar, piano and ukulele. Below are the chords with the words, the piano notes for the tune, the song in every common key, and where the carol came from, since it started as a Latin hymn, "Adeste Fideles."
The chart is in G, where every chord is an open shape on guitar. Most hymnals print it in G too, so you can play straight from the book. If yours prints it in A, put a capo on the second fret and use the same G shapes.
The short version
Seven chords in G: G, D, C, Em, Am, A7, D7. The tune is in 4/4 and spans one octave, from the D just above middle C to the D above that. The refrain sings "O come, let us adore Him" three times, on three different melodies. For a group, G or A works.
What chords are in O Come All Ye Faithful?
O Come All Ye Faithful uses seven chords in G: G, D, C, Em, Am, A7 and D7. G and D carry most of the song, C, Em and Am fill in, A7 leads into D in "to Bethlehem," and D7 brings the last "O come, let us adore Him" home to G.
The first line moves between G and D. The second line, "O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem," treats D as home for a moment, with Em, A7 and D. A7 is the 5 chord of D, and its C sharp is the only note in the song from outside the key of G. The secondary dominants post explains the move. The refrain stays on G the first time, ends on D the second time, and switches to D7 on the third "come," which resolves to G on "Him" before C, D and G close on "Christ the Lord."
| Number | Chord in G | Piano notes | Where it comes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | G, B, D | Most of the song |
| 5 | D | D, F♯, A | "faithful," "Bethlehem," "born," "angels" |
| 4 | C | C, E, G | "triumphant," the last "Him" |
| 6m | Em | E, G, B | the first "O come ye," "to," "King" |
| 2m | Am | A, C, E | "behold," "of" |
| 2 (as a 7th) | A7 | A, C♯, E, G | the "O" of the second "O come ye," "Bethlehem" |
| 5 (as a 7th) | D7 | D, F♯, A, C | the third "O come, let us adore Him" |
The same seven chords work on guitar, piano and ukulele. Read the chart below for where each one falls.
O Come All Ye Faithful lyrics and chords
These are the traditional English words, from Frederick Oakeley's translation with the first line as revised in 1852, with the O Come All Ye Faithful chords in G. Each chord sits on the syllable where it changes and rings until the next one. Every verse ends with the same refrain.
Verse 1 and refrain (4/4, key of G)
O [G]come, all ye [D]faithful, [G]joyful and [C]tri[G]um[D]phant,
[Em]O come [D]ye, [A7]O [D]come ye, [Em]to [A7]Beth[D]lehem;
[G]Come and be[Am]hold [G]Him, [D]born the [Em]King [Am]of [D]angels;
[G]O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore [D]Him,
[G]O [D7]come, let us adore [G]Him, [C]
[D]Christ [G]the Lord.
Verses 2 to 4
God of God, Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb;
Very God, begotten, not created;
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, glory in the highest;
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
Each verse ends with the refrain, "O come, let us adore Him" three times and "Christ the Lord." The second verse's first line is short, so some words hold across several notes. Some hymnals, including the United Methodist Hymnal, sing a version that fits the tune more closely, beginning "True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal."
How do you play O Come All Ye Faithful on guitar?
All seven O Come All Ye Faithful guitar chords in G are open shapes: G (320003), D (xx0232), C (x32010), Em (022000), Am (x02210), A7 (x02020) and D7 (xx0212), counting strings from the low E. It's in 4/4 at a steady walking pace, so strum down on each beat or pick a bass note on beats 1 and 3.
The first line is the easy part: G and D, with a quick C on "tri" and back through G and D. The second line moves fastest, with a new chord on almost every word, so practice "O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem" (Em, D, A7, D, Em, A7, D) on its own until it flows. Em to A7 is a small move: keep the finger on the second fret of the D string, which both chords share, and move the other one from the A string to the B string.
The refrain is mostly G, with D on the second "Him." The change to watch is the third "O come," where D7 comes in and holds until "Him." To play along with a hymnal in A, put a capo on the second fret and use the same shapes; the guitar capo chart has every fret.
What are the piano notes for O Come All Ye Faithful?
The O Come All Ye Faithful piano notes in G use the white keys plus F sharp, the black key just below G. The tune starts on the G above middle C and stays within one octave, from the D just above middle C to the D above that. Play the seven chords in the left hand.
O Come All Ye Faithful: piano notes (right hand, key of G)
O come, all ye faithful: G G D G A D
joyful and triumphant: B A B C B A
O come ye, O come ye: G G F♯ E F♯ G A
to Bethlehem: B F♯ E D D
Come and behold Him: D C B C B
born the King of angels: A B G A F♯ E D
O come, let us adore Him: G G F♯ G A G D
O come, let us adore Him: B B A B C B A
O come, let us adore Him: B C B A G F♯ G C
Christ the Lord: B A G G
The opening, G G D G, drops to the low D and climbs back. The highest note, the D an octave above the lowest, comes only once, on "Come" in "Come and behold Him." The refrain sings the same words three times on three different melodies, and the third reaches up to C on "come" before falling to "Christ the Lord." Some syllables carry two notes, so a line can have more notes than syllables.
For the left hand, play the chord shown on each syllable. The two seventh chords are A7 (A, C sharp, E, G) and D7 (D, F sharp, A, C). A7's C sharp is the only black key besides F sharp.
What are the ukulele chords for O Come All Ye Faithful?
The O Come All Ye Faithful ukulele chords in G are G (0232), D (2220), C (0003), Em (0432), Am (2000), A7 (0100) and D7 (2223), where the numbers are frets on the G, C, E and A strings in that order. C, Am and A7 each take one finger.
The ukulele shares the chart in G. Strum down on each beat, and on the second line, where the chord changes on almost every word, strum once per chord until the changes are smooth. D (2220) can be played with three fingers or with one finger laid across the second fret. For a three-chord carol to warm up on, try Joy to the World.
O Come All Ye Faithful chords in five common keys
O Come All Ye Faithful's lowest note is the 5 of the key below the key note, and its highest is the 5 an octave above. In G the tune runs from D to D, and in A from E to E. Pick the key that puts the low note comfortably in your voice, then read the chords across.
| Key | Chords (1, 5, 4, 6m, 2m, 2 as a 7th, 5 as a 7th) | Lowest and highest note (middle C is C4) | Guitar shapes |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | E, B, A, C♯m, F♯m, F♯7, B7 | B3 up to B4 | D shapes capo 2 (Bm is a barre) |
| F | F, C, B♭, Dm, Gm, G7, C7 | C4 up to C5 | D shapes capo 3 (Bm is a barre) |
| G | G, D, C, Em, Am, A7, D7 | D4 up to D5 | Open |
| A | A, E, D, F♯m, Bm, B7, E7 | E4 up to E5 | G shapes capo 2 |
| B flat | B♭, F, E♭, Gm, Cm, C7, F7 | F4 up to F5 | G shapes capo 3 |
Most hymnals print the tune in G. Men singing the tune sing it an octave lower than written.
In Nashville numbers, line 1 is 1, 5, 1, 4, 1, 5; line 2 is 6m, 5, 2, 5, 6m, 2, 5, with the 2 played as a seventh chord; line 3 is 1, 2m, 1, 5, 6m, 2m, 5; and the refrain is 1, then 1 to 5, then 1, 5 (as a seventh), 1, 4, 5, 1. The Nashville Number System post explains how to read a chart like this.
What key should a group sing O Come All Ye Faithful in?
G is a good place to start, and it's the key most hymnals use: the tune runs from the D just above middle C up to the D an octave higher, D4 to D5. A (E4 to E5), a step higher, suits a room of strong singers; F (C4 to C5) is easier on deep voices.
The Hymnal 1982, Glory to God, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Lutheran Service Book and the 1991 Baptist Hymnal all print it in G.
Both ends of the range come early. "All" in "O come, all ye faithful" is the first time the tune reaches its lowest note, and "Come" in "Come and behold Him" is the highest. Sing those two words before you start: if "Come" strains, drop the key; if "all" disappears, raise it.
If you're leading and want to check your own range first, the free vocal range test finds your lowest and highest notes and suggests keys that fit, with guitar capo frets.
Who wrote O Come All Ye Faithful?
The Latin hymn "Adeste Fideles" first appears in manuscripts by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic who copied and sold church music, the oldest probably from the 1740s. Frederick Oakeley translated it into English around 1841, and the first line "O come, all ye faithful" comes from an 1852 revision.
According to the Hymnology Archive, no source of the hymn is older than the 1740s, and Wade is credited with the words because they appear in manuscripts he signed. Whether he also wrote the tune is less certain. It has been credited to John Reading, Handel, King John IV of Portugal and others; the Reading claim has been dismissed because the tune isn't found in his works. Wade's early copies are in triple time, and the 4/4 tune sung today came later.
The hymn caught on in London through the Portuguese embassy chapel, where Samuel Webbe was organist, which is why it was long called the "Portuguese Hymn." By one account, the Duke of Leeds heard it there in 1795 and commissioned a concert arrangement, first performed in 1797, that made it known well beyond Catholic churches.
Oakeley's translation began "Ye faithful, approach ye." Francis Murray's hymnal of 1852 changed the opening to "O come, all ye faithful," and Hymns Ancient & Modern spread that version from 1861. The Wikipedia article gives the four original Latin verses and the four added later. The words and tune are in the public domain.
How do you put O Come All Ye Faithful into Song Cage?
Song Cage shows a song as chords over the words, like a printed chord sheet, and moves the whole song to a new key in one step. Type the words into a song in Sheet view, put the chords on, then pick a key from the key chip, such as A, and choose Move song.
Move song keeps every chord on its word, so the chart in G becomes A, E, D, F♯m, Bm, B7 and E7 in A. View > Nashville Numbers shows the same song as numbers in any key, and clicking a chord shows its guitar shape or piano keys, with a capo if you set one. When you add a chord, the chord palette's Secondary Dominants section lists chords like A7 that lead to a chord in the key, the move this carol makes on "to Bethlehem." The changing keys chapter covers Move song and Relabel.
To hear the words on the tune, add the melody by singing it in and using Detect melody, or by entering the notes, and the Singer voice sings each syllable on its note. It sounds like an 80s talking computer played off an old cassette, rough but clear enough to hear how the words sit. For more carols, see Silent Night chords, Jingle Bells chords, O Holy Night chords, Away in a Manger chords, Joy to the World chords and Hark the Herald Angels Sing chords.
Play O Come All Ye Faithful in your key
Put the chords over the words in Song Cage, move the song from G to any key in one step, and see every chord as a guitar shape or as piano keys.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the chords for O Come All Ye Faithful?
In G: G, D, C, Em, Am, A7 and D7. G and D do most of the work; A7 leads to D in "to Bethlehem," and D7 leads the last "O come, let us adore Him" back to G.
What are the piano notes for O Come All Ye Faithful?
In G, "O come, all ye faithful" is G G D G A D, starting on the G above middle C. The tune uses the white keys plus F sharp and spans one octave, from D to D.
Who wrote O Come All Ye Faithful?
The Latin original, "Adeste Fideles," comes from manuscripts by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist, starting in the 1740s. Whether he wrote the tune is not certain. Frederick Oakeley translated it into English around 1841.
What key is O Come All Ye Faithful in?
Most hymnals print it in G, the key of this chart, where every guitar chord is an open shape. If your book is in A, put a capo on the second fret and play the G shapes.
Why is it called the Portuguese Hymn?
Because London heard it at the Portuguese embassy chapel in the 1790s, and it spread from there. The name comes from the chapel; the earliest known copies are all by the English copyist John Francis Wade.
Is O Come All Ye Faithful in the public domain?
Yes. The Latin dates from the 18th century and Oakeley's translation from 1841, with its opening line revised in 1852. Modern arrangements and recordings can still be under copyright.
