Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason · Key of D · Public domain
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This chart is written in D. Tap any key above the chart to see the whole song in that key, with every chord already worked out. To stay in D with different chord shapes, play it capo 2 with the C shapes, or capo 5 with the A shapes, or capo 7 with the G shapes. Singing with a group? Pick the key where the highest note is comfortable for everyone, then print that page.
Joy to the World was never meant to be a Christmas song. Isaac Watts published the words in 1719 in his Psalms of David Imitated, as a paraphrase of Psalm 98 looking toward Christ's return, with no manger, shepherds, or star anywhere in the text. The tune we all know, called Antioch, was arranged more than a century later by the Boston music educator Lowell Mason in 1836, who credited it "from Handel." Echoes of phrases from Messiah are easy to hear, though scholars believe the arrangement is mostly Mason's own craft.
However the pieces came together, the result became the most published Christmas hymn in North America. The whole opening line is simply a major scale sung straight down from the top, which makes it one of the most satisfying melodies in the repertoire to harmonize, and one of the easiest to teach. Words and tune are both centuries into the public domain.
Three chords carry the whole hymn: D, G, and A7. Play it as a bright, unhurried march, and notice the fun of the opening line: the melody walks straight down the D major scale one note per syllable, so the chords are really just escorting a scale to the bottom. The echoing "and heaven and nature sing" lines want a little build each time. Capo up or transpose in the Chord Sheet Maker if D does not suit your singers.
Joy to the World in other easy guitar keys: key of E, key of F, key of G, key of A, key of C. Every other key is at the top of the chart.
Tap any chord for its diagram, other voicings, and the notes inside it.
In the key of D, Joy to the World uses 3 chords: D, A7 and G. The chords sit over the words in the chart above, and tapping a chord name under Chords in This Song opens its diagram.
This chart is in the key of D. The other easy guitar keys for it are the key of E, key of F, key of G, key of A, key of C, each with the whole song rewritten. Pick the key whose chords you know, or the one that sits best for the singers: all twelve are one tap away at the top of the chart, with capo options for keeping the open shapes.
Yes. The words and the melody of Joy to the World are in the public domain, which is why the full lyrics and chords are published here. You can print this sheet, hand it out, and perform or record the song anywhere without a license.
Keep the carols going: O Holy Night chords and lyrics
All the Christmas carol chord sheets, each one in every key.
Further reading: Joy to the World at Hymnary.org (texts, tunes, and history)
