Traditional English carol · Key of G · Public domain
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This chart is written in G. Tap any key above the chart to see the whole song in that key, with every chord already worked out. To stay in G with different chord shapes, play it capo 3 with the E shapes, or capo 5 with the D shapes, or capo 7 with the C shapes. Singing with a group? Pick the key where the highest note is comfortable for everyone, then print that page.
This is a carol about carolers. It comes from the West Country of England, where groups went door to door at Christmas singing for the households of the well off and expecting to be paid in food and drink. The demands in the verses are the whole point: bring us some figgy pudding, and we won't go until we get some. Figgy pudding was an ancestor of today's Christmas pudding, a boiled or steamed pudding of dried fruit and spice.
Nobody knows how old the song is. It was passed along by ear, and its worldwide fame is surprisingly recent: the Bristol composer and conductor Arthur Warrell arranged it for his university singers in 1935, and that publication carried it everywhere. The traditional words and tune, which are what this chart uses, are in the public domain. It is also one of the very few carols that wishes you a happy New Year in the same breath.
It is in 3/4, a quick one-two-three, with one chord per bar most of the way. The verse is a neat little staircase: G to C, then A7 to D, then B7 to Em, each pair a step higher than the last, before C, D, and G bring it home on "happy New Year." A7 and B7 are both easy open shapes, so do not be put off by the count of six chords. In the refrain the chords move faster on "to you and your kin," so play one strum per chord there. Sing the figgy pudding verses louder each time. That is the tradition.
Tap any chord for its diagram, other voicings, and the notes inside it.
More for the party: Deck the Halls chords and lyrics
All the Christmas carol chord sheets, each one in every key.
Further reading: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Wikipedia)
