#257: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

[lutheranhymns]

So I've actually blogged about this one on a very unrelated site. Basically, I would call it a classic for a reason. By classic, I mean its lyrics are based on ancient chants dating from the eighth century or older. I figure, something almost has to be good if it's survived this long. Not necessarily, but often. Maybe eighth-century monks had just as many mediocre/cheesy/cliche lyrics as our 21st-century Christmas songs. (Again, not necessarily, but maybe.) And the ones that stand the test of time are a good form of selection bias.

The different verses are sort of associated with the last few days of Advent. You would think there aren't that many hymns with specific verses for specific days, but then, some of the saints' days hymns do this too!