Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer chords

The most famous reindeer of all
rudolph the reindeer
  • Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer was written by Johnny Marks
  • Original Published Key: C Major
  • First Appearance - 1939: Rudolph's first appearance was in a booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.
  • First Recording: Gene Autry - The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the Christmas week of 1949 with 2.5 million copies sold in the first year, eventually reaching a total of 25 million. Until the 1980's, it was the 2nd best-selling single of all time.
  • Featured Artists: The Kiboomers
  • Music: Key of G Major in 2/2 time at 84 bpm (𝅗𝅥)
  • Chords: C, Bm, Am, A, A7, G, B7, Em, D, D7
Chart Legend
Numbered Circles: Fingers used to play chords   O: Optional Note
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings   R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open   X: Don't play string    B: Bass Note
C Major Bm Bm Am A Major A7 G Major B7 Em D Major D7
C Major Bm Bm Am A Major A7 G Major B7 Em D Major D7

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
Intro: 4/4
            C           Bm          Am           G
   You know Dash-er and Dan-cer and Pran-cer and Vix-en
   C          Bm         Am          G
   Com-et and Cup-id and Don-ner and Blitz-en
   Em     B7     Em               A7                   D7
   But do you re-call    The most fam-ous rein-deer of all

   G                                                      D7
1. Ru-dolph the Red-Nosed Rein-deer    Had a ve-ry shi-ny nose
                                                      G
   And if you e-ver saw him    You would e-ven say it glows
   G                                                         D7
   All of the o-ther rein-deer    Used to laugh and call him names
                                                           G
   They ne-ver let poor Ru-dolph    Join in a-ny rein-deer games

        C               G                  C              G
Bridge: Then one fog-gy  Christ-mas Eve    San-ta came to say
        D7                                 A7                  D7
        Ru-dolph with your nose so bright    Won't you lead my sleigh to-night

   G                                                             D7
2. Then all the rein-deer loved him    As they shout-ed out with glee
                                                                G
   Ru-dolph the Red-Nosed Rein-deer    You'll go down in his-to-ry
   
           C      Bm     Am      G       C      Bm     Am      G
Instr: |       |      |      |       |       |      |      |       |

          Em      B7     Em      Em      A      A7     D       D7
       |       |      |      |       |       |      |      |       |

   G                                                      D7
3. Ru-dolph the Red-Nosed Rein-deer    Had a ve-ry shi-ny nose
                                                      G
   And if you e-ver saw him    You would e-ven say it glows
   G                                                         D7
   All of the o-ther rein-deer    Used to laugh and call him names
                                                           G
   They ne-ver let poor Ru-dolph    Join in a-ny rein-deer games

        C               G                  C              G
Bridge: Then one fog-gy  Christ-mas Eve    San-ta came to say
        D7                                 A7                  D7
        Ru-dolph with your nose so bright    Won't you lead my sleigh to-night
        
   G                                                             D7
4. Then all the rein-deer loved him    As they shout-ed out with glee
                                                                G
   Ru-dolph the Red-Nosed Rein-deer    You'll go down in his-to-ry  woo...

Notes:

  • This song is ideal for beginners. The Bm is a little tricky but stick with it... think of it as an Am chord played up 2 frets with the chord played using fingers 2,3, and 4 and the index finger added to the 1st string, 2nd fret... see charts.
  • The tempo is set at 84 bpm in half-note time or 168 bpm in quarter-note time.
  • It sounds better if you set your metronome at 84 bpm in half-note time which means the click will sound 2x per bar (beats 1 & 3) instead of 4x per bar (beats 1 2 3 4)... the choice is yours.
  • The lyrics are slightly altered with the use of, 'lead my sleigh tonight' instead of 'guide my sleigh tonight', along with a few other subtle changes.
  • The easiest key for beginners is C major.  If you want to play with the video, you will need a capo on the 7th fret. It may sound a little high but it will get you by.  
  • If you are playing with another guitarist, one could play in G major while the other in C Major with a Capo on 7 - see what you think!
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