Christmas songs

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen chords for guitar

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen needs 6 chords in Em minor: Cm, G, G7, Fm, E♭ and A. Here it is bar by bar: press any chord to hear it, Play to go through the whole carol, and the Key menu to move it to suit your voice.

Tempo110

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullsoft falldaylightcolour

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

4/4, four beats a bar · 19 bars

Verse

Refrain

Chord chart The chords of C minor ›

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, 19 bars: verse and refrain. Press a chord to hear it; Play goes through the whole carol.

The chords

Press a chord to hear it, or its name for every way to play it.

Cm

Standard

i

3R5R♭35CGCE♭G

G

FamousStandard

♭VI

R3RGBDGBG

G7

Standard

V7

R3♭7GBDGBF

Fm

Standard

iv

R5R♭35RFCFA♭CF

E♭

Standard

III

R5R3E♭B♭E♭G

A

Standard

♭VII

5R3AEAC♯E

How to play it

  • The strum. Four beats to the bar: four down strums is enough to start; then the folk strum (down, down-up, up-down-up). On guitar a bass note then a strum sounds fuller. Start slow, around 80 beats a minute, and change chord on the first beat of the bar.
  • The first note. The tune starts just before the first bar, on a pickup: count in and come in with the first chord on beat 1.
  • Too low or too high to sing? Change the key above. Or keep these shapes and put a capo on: two frets up raises the song a whole step (the capo chart works it out).
  • A new chord? Press its card for every way to play it, or start from the beginner chords.

About the carol

A traditional English carol, thought to date from the 16th century or earlier; it circulated on 18th-century broadsides and was printed in William Sandys's Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833). Words and tune are anonymous. (source)

Questions

What chords are in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen?

In Em minor: Cm, G, G7, Fm, E♭ and A.

What key is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen in?

It is sung in many keys. On guitar Em minor is the easiest, with open chords; use the Key menu for any other.

What strumming pattern does God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen use?

Four beats to the bar: four down strums is enough to start; then the folk strum (down, down-up, up-down-up). On guitar a bass note then a strum sounds fuller.

Sources

The chords were checked against these, bar by bar; where they differ, this page gives the version most beginner sheets agree on.

More Christmas songs

Silent NightJingle BellsWe Wish You a Merry ChristmasDeck the HallsO Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)Away in a MangerJoy to the WorldHark! The Herald Angels SingO Come, All Ye FaithfulThe First NoelGood King WenceslasWe Three KingsO Little Town of BethlehemJolly Old Saint NicholasUp on the HousetopAngels We Have Heard on HighAuld Lang SyneAll Christmas songs