John Henry Hopkins Jr. · Key of E Minor · Public domain
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This chart is written in E Minor. Tap any key above the chart to see the whole song in that key, with every chord already worked out. To stay in E Minor with different chord shapes, play it capo 2 with the Dm shapes, or capo 7 with the Am shapes. Singing with a group? Pick the key where the highest note is comfortable for everyone, then print that page.
We Three Kings was written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins Jr., who taught music at the General Theological Seminary in New York. He wrote both the words and the tune for a Christmas pageant, by most accounts to entertain his nieces and nephews, and published it in 1863. It became the first Christmas carol written in the United States to win lasting popularity around the world.
Hopkins designed it as a small drama. After the opening verse, each of the three kings steps forward to sing about his own gift (gold for a king, frankincense for a deity, myrrh foreshadowing a burial) before all three join in the final verse. The music follows the story: the verses sway along in a minor key, like a camel ride at night, and then the refrain breaks into the major for "O star of wonder." Words and music are in the public domain.
This carol changes character halfway, and your strumming should too. The verses are in E minor (Em, B7, D, G, Am) in a swaying 3/4: keep them quiet and steady, bass note on one, like a camel's walk. Then a single D7 on "O" turns the corner into G major for the refrain, which is just G and C until "Westward leading, still proceeding" walks down through Em, D, C, and D. Open up and strum fully there, then drop back down for the next king's verse. With five verses, the contrast is what keeps it alive.
Tap any chord for its diagram, other voicings, and the notes inside it.
Follow the star: The First Noel chords and lyrics
All the Christmas carol chord sheets, each one in every key.
Further reading: We Three Kings (Wikipedia)
