The First Noel chords

ft. Boney M

Music & Lyrics: Traditional Christmas Carol
Original Key: D Major
Featured Artist: Boney M
Album: Christmas With Boney M
Music: Key of C Major in 3/4 time at 90 bpm (♩)
Song Chords: Am, G, G7, F, C, Dm

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

The First Noel

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key

              Am  G7  F    C  F  Dm    C     G7     C
Intro: 3/4 ||            |           |    /      |     ||

       C        G         F           C
1. The first No-el    The ang-els did say
          F             C             G7             C
   Was to cer-tain poor sheph-erds in fields as they lay
      C            G7          F              C
   In fields where they    Lay keep-ing their sheep
        F              C          G7     C
   On a cold win-ter's night that was so deep

            C     G        F     C
Refrain: No-el No-el    No-el No-el
         Am          C       G7    C
         Born is the King of Is-ra-el

              Am  G7  F    C  F  Dm    C     G7     C
Intro: 3/4 ||            |           |    /      |     ||

        C       G         F     C
2. They look-ed up    And saw a star
            F      C        G7        C
   Shin-ing in the east  be-yond them far
       C      G7          F          C
   And to the earth    It gave great light
       F         C            G7      C
   And so it con-tin-ued both day and night

            C     G        F     C
Refrain: No-el No-el    No-el No-el
         Am          C       G7    C
         Born is the King of Is-ra-el

              Am  G7  F    C  F  Dm    C     G7     C
Intro: 3/4 ||            |           |    /      |     ||


       C        G         F           C
3. The first No-el    The ang-els did say
          F             C             G7             C
   Was to cer-tain poor sheph-erds in fields as they lay
      C            G7          F              C
   In fields where they    Lay keep-ing their sheep
        F              C          G7     C
   On a cold win-ter's night that was so deep

            C     G        F     C
Refrain: No-el No-el    No-el No-el
         Am          C       G7    C
         Born is the King of Is-ra-el          
                                                          
         Am  G7  F    C  F  Dm    C     G7     G7    G7    C
Outro: ||           |           |    /      |  𝄎  |  𝄎  |  𝄑  ||

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 in D Major - Piano/Vocal/Chords
Christmas Carols Page - Easier version in D Major

Notes:

We have kept the chords during the verses and choruses to a minimum so that beginners can play along. If you want, you can play the 4 bar intro over the second line of each Refrain or Chorus.

The simile mark 𝄎 means you repeat the previous bar, chord or note, therefore:

  G7
|    |  𝄎  |  𝄎  | Play G7 for 3 bars.

  C     G7
|    /     | Play C for 2 beats, and G7 for 1 beat.

𝄐 The fermata or pause symbol - In this case, simply strum the chord and hold... let it ring out naturally.

If you are playing solo, you don't have to play the 4 bars of intro at the start of the song and between verses, and you don't have to play the outro... you may just want to end on a C chord. The choice is yours.