Twelve Days of Christmas chords
... and a partridge in a pear treeSong Key: F Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 110 bpm
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner 🟢
Guitar Chords in D Major: D, Dsus4, A, A7, G, E7
Capo: 3rd fret (to play with the video in F Major)
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
Play-Along Video
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Speed: x0.1
The Twelve Days of Christmas Chords
Capo on the 3rd fret if playing with the video
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
Intro: 4/4 ‖ - - - ♪♪ | | / ‖
D A D
1. On the first day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
A par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
2. On the se-cond day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7 D G D A D Dsus4 D
Two tur-tle doves And a par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
3. On the third day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Three French hens Two tur-tle doves
D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
And a par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
4. On the fourth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Four cal-ling birds Three French hens
A7 D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
Two tur-tle doves And a par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
5. On the fifth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
D E7 A D
Refrain: Five gold-en rings Four calling birds
G A7
Three French hens Two tur-tle doves
D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
And a par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
6. On the sixth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A
Refrain: Five gold-en rings...
D A
7. On the sev-enth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Se-ven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A
Refrain: Five gold-en rings...
D A D
8. On the eighth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Eight maids a-milk-ing Seven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A D
Refrain: Five gold-en rings Four calling birds
G A7
Three French hens Two tur-tle doves
D G D A7 D Dsus4 D
And a par-tridge in a pear | tree / |
D A D
9. On the ninth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Nine la-dies dan-cing Eight maids a-milk-ing
A7
Se-ven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A
Refrain: Five gold-en rings...
D A D
10. On the tenth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Ten lords a-leap-ing Nine la-dies dan-cing Eight maids a-milking
A7
Se-ven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A
Refrain: Five gold-en rings...
D A D
11. On the e-le-venth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
E-le-ven pip-ers pip-ing Ten lords a-leap-ing Nine la-dies dan-cing
A7
Eight maids a-milking Se-ven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A
Refrain: Five gold-en rings...
D A D
12. On the twelfth day of Christ-mas My true love gave to me
A7
Twelve drum-mers drum-ming E-le-ven pip-ers pip-ing Ten lords a-leap-ing
A7
Nine la-dies dan-cing Eight maids a-milking
A7
Se-ven swans a-swim-ming Six geese a-lay-ing
D E7 A D
Refrain: Five gold-en rings Four calling birds
G A7
Three French hens Two tur-tle doves
D G D A7 D
And a par-tridge in a pear tree...- Reading the Song Charts - a closer look at reading the song charts on this site
- Chord Transposer - a better understanding of how it works
- Christmas Songs - Easy Chords - Another version in D Major - uses a slightly different chord arrangement with the inclusion of a few minor chords, and some slight changes in the lyrics.
Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: F Major - 1 flat (Bb)
- Chords in F Major: F, Fsus4, C, C7, Bb, G7
- Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
- Tempo: Moderate
- Metronome: ♩ = 110
- Voice Range: A3 - B4
Beginners:
- The song is in the key of F major which makes it a little hard for beginners to play along with, so we place a capo on the 3rd fret and play in the key of D Major... a much easier key. Remember, this only applies if you are playing along with the video, otherwise you don't have to use a capo.
- An easy way to play Dsus4 is to play a D chord and put your pinkie on the first string - 3rd fret... see charts.
- Remember you are in 4/4 time which means 4 quarter-note beats per bar. There are timing changes throughout the song with changes to 3/4 time and back to 4/4 time. I haven't included them all, as it can become quite confusing.
- The chords are in sync with the lyrics, so make sure you follow them carefully. Also, if you are unsure of the song, just listen to the video a few times. Once you become familiar with the tune, you will notice where the timing changes occur.
- The tempo is set at 110 bpm, so if you are using a metronome or click-track, the beat occurs on every quarter-note.
- This is very easy to play, once you get used to the chord changes. Start slowly until it feels comfortable... and then you'll be playing like Speedie!
- Composer: Traditional
- Lyricist: Traditional with additions from Frederic Austin
- Lyrics Begin: On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.
- Genre: Christmas
Song Details & Related Pages:
Wikipedia - More information about the song with several variations to the lyrics from different sources.
YouTube - A collection of videos relating to the song - some are very entertaining
Free Online Simple Melody Score - all verses can be downloaded (jpeg or pdf) - Available in English and Esperanto - excellent for any instrument playing chords or the melody line.
