Adolphe Adam and John Sullivan Dwight · Key of C · Public domain
Opens in the Chord Sheet Maker: transpose to your key, change chords, add strumming patterns, or print a clean copy. No account needed to start.
O Holy Night began in the small French town of Roquemaure in 1843, when the parish priest asked the local wine merchant and occasional poet Placide Cappeau to write a Christmas poem to celebrate the church's newly renovated organ. Cappeau wrote "Minuit, chretiens" (Midnight, Christians), and the celebrated opera composer Adolphe Adam set it to music in 1847. The soaring result was an immediate sensation in France, premiered at midnight mass by the opera singer Emily Laurey.
The English version most of the world sings came from the American music critic John Sullivan Dwight in 1855, and it is more than a translation. Dwight, an ardent abolitionist, sharpened the third verse into "Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother," and the carol found a devoted audience in Civil War era America. Both the music and the English words have been public domain for well over a century.
Count it in a slow, swaying three and let the arpeggios roll: this is a song that builds. Start gently on the C and F changes, let the Em and B7 in the fourth line darken the color, and save your fullest strumming for "Fall on your knees," which is the summit of the whole carol. The melody has a wide range, so transpose freely in the Chord Sheet Maker to find the key that fits your singer; C keeps the chord shapes friendly, and a capo moves it anywhere.
Another carol for midnight: Silent Night chords and lyrics
Further reading: O Holy Night at Hymnary.org (texts, tunes, and history)
