Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer chords
The most famous reindeer of all
- 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
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note
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...- Reading the Song Charts - a closer look at reading the song charts on this site
- Chord Transposer - a better understanding of how it works
- Free Sheet Music - Vocal/Piano/Guitar - C Major
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!
