Back to top

The Christmas Song

Written by 
Tabbed by 

Capo 1st fret (sounding key Ab major).

Some of the chord suggestions depend on the contexts in the song. E.g. the Cmaj7-Dm7-Em7 figure, which should be played with the barre chords; elsewhere the standard form may work just as good.

Chords 
Am/f#     202210
Am7       575555 or x02010
B7#9      x2123x
Bb9       x13111 or x10111
Cmaj7     x35453
D9        x54555
Dm7       x57565 or xx0211
Dm7-5     xx0111 or x5656x
Ebmaj7    xx1333 
Em7      (0)79787 or 010000
Emaj7     021100 or 022444
Fmaj7     133210 or x8-10-9-10-8
G11       3x3213 or 3x321x
G6        35x453 
G7        x-10-9-10-8-x
G11
C                       G11
All through the year we waited
                          Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7
Waited through spring and fall
        C            Am/f#
To hear silver bells ringing
    B7         Em7
see wintertime bringing
    Am7      D9        G11
The happiest season of all:
Cmaj7     Dm7            Em7       Fmaj7 G7
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, 
Cmaj7      Gm7     C7      Fmaj7   B7#9 E7
Jack Frost nipping at your nose, 
Am7      Dm7-5        Cmaj7     F#m7   B7
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, 
    Emaj7                Fm7 Bb9 Ebmaj7   Dm7  
And folks dressed up like    Eskimos. 
G7        Cmaj7   Dm7             Em7       Fmaj7 Gsus4 G
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe, 
Cmaj7    Gm7      C7     Fmaj7   B7#9 E7
 Help to make the season bright. 
Am7            Dm7-5         Cmaj7    F#m7   B7
Tiny little tots  with their eyes all aglow, 
     Em7     Am7     Dm7  G7   Cmaj7    (G6 Cmaj7)
Will find it hard to sleep   tonight. 
               Gm7 C7             Gm7    C7     
They know that San -- ta's on his way; 
            Gm7          C7        Fmaj7
He's loaded lots of toys    on his sleigh.    *)
    Fm7            Bb7               Ebmaj7
And every mother's child is going to spy, 
          Am7             D7          Dm7   G7
To see if reindeer really know how to fly. 
And so I'm offering this simple phrase, 
To kids from one to ninety-two, 
Although its been said many times, many ways, 
Merry Christmas to you 
[instrumental bridge]
And so I'm offering this simple phrase, 
To kids from one to ninety-two, 
Although its been said many times, many ways, 
B7    Em7     Am7 Dm7 G7    Cmaj7/e  Am7 Dm7 
Merry Christmas   to      you 
G7    Em7     Am7 Dm7 G7    Cmaj7
Merry Christmas   to      you 

From the recent Bill Flanagan interview:

BF: I think you did drop the goodies on the sleigh. Did something about that bother you?

BD: No not really. I dont think I thought of it until you mentioned it. I try my best to be exact, but sometimes things just fall away. We probably recorded the song, got the feel right and moved on. Most likely we didnt even listen back. Just moved on to something else. I dont think thats something I would have noticed anyway.

Contact

Corrections, additions, questions? Contact me