Musical Theology: Adeste Fideles

Before we get too far from Christmas, I wanted to mention one of the seasonal hymns I find most interesting: "Adeste Fideles", or "O Come, All Ye Faithful" as most of us know/sing it.  While it has an interesting backstory on its authorship and possible other interpretations of the song (start at wikipedia and click on the references), I want to talk about the text of the song, specifically, verse 2 (in the United Methodist Hymnal).

Verses 1-3, and 6 are the traditional verses, and 1, 3, and 6 have always felt of a type to me, telling a story of a call to celebration.  I always picture it not necessarily as a call to the manger on that first Christmas (because where were "all ye faithful" then?), but rather as the call to some massive Kingdom birthday celebration, and we are taking on the roll of the announcer.  We invite folks to Bethlehem, strike up the heavenly band, and greet Christ, the guest of honor, as he enters.  (Yes, I do a lot of world-building while I sing.)

But then there's verse 2.  We're barely out of the gate, and suddenly, we're singing the key part of Nicean Creed.  It's a brilliant piece of sung theology; in fact it may be in my top ten all-time pieces of sung theology (placeholder link to that article, which I can't wait to write now).  Like many songs with smart lyrics, though, it has issues with its own musical setting.  At that most theologically crucial line, "Begotten, not created", the song has to add in an extra syllable to make it work. Despite my love for the song, ever since I first saw Love Actually, the voice of Billy Mack creeps into my head during this verse every time I sing it: "And particularly enjoy the incredible crassness of the moment when we try to squeeze an extra syllable into the fourth line."  I don't actually find it crass, but if you see me smirking while singing next Christmas, you'll know why.