Adam's Year of Uke! #8 "O Come..."

It is Advent!

This is my favorite season.  No doubt I will write more about that elsewhere.  At this point, suffice it to say that what I enjoy the most is the anticipation.  This song, for me, encapsulates the Advent season.  It is a time of waiting, after all.

The uke is well suited for this song for some reason.  My belief is that it has to do with the stripped-down aesthetic of the tune and the haunting minor keyness of it all.  It is haunting for a reason.  The song is set before the Christmas story when rejoicing is still a hope rather than a reality.  This year I--at least--feel that a bit more.

The video fills the "Year of Uke" parameters with me (with pre-pandemic & pre-surgery hair) playing the uke and--along with Lee Manuel--leading the congregation.  Here is what I suspect is the version we played...

O Come O Come Emmanuel

13th Century Latin plainsong
Text Transl. John M Neale  and Henry Coffin
(Verse 1)
  Em                          Am   D     Em
O come, O come, Emmanuel
            G                        Am  Em
And ransom captive Israel
    Am                                 G      D
That mourns in lonely exile here
     Em                       Am D    G
Until the Son of God appear
(Chorus)

  D            Bm           Am  Em
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
      G                                 Am  Em
Shall come to thee O Israel

(Verse 2)
  Em                                           Am D     Em
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
         G                              Am     Em
Our spirits by Thine advent here
    Am                                G                 D
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
         Em                                    Am D      G
And death's dark shadows put to flight

(Chorus)

(Verse 3)
  Em                                      Am   D  Em
O come thou Wisdom from on high
    G                                  Am     Em
And order all things far and nigh
  Am                          G                    D
To us the path of knowledge show
        Em                          Am D    G
And cause us in her ways to go

(Chorus)

(Verse 4)
  Em                             Am D      Em
O come, Desire of nations, bind
    G                             Am            Em
All people in one heart and mind
    Am                            G                D
Bid envy strife and quarrels cease
        Em                              Am D      G
Fill all the world with heaven's peace

(Chorus)