Notalo › Piano songs with letters › We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas — piano notes with letters
The English carol in G major, 3/4 time. It starts on a pick-up note (a single D before the first full bar), and the same four-bar phrase is sung three times before “and a happy new year”.
Traditional (West Country, England), 16th century · G major · 3/4 · public domain · arranged and labeled by Notalo
Hear it. A MIDI file of exactly these notes at 132 BPM — open it in any music app, or slow it down to practice.
Download MIDIAbout the song
An English carol from the West Country, probably 16th century, sung by carolers who expected something to eat or drink in return — hence the verse demanding 'figgy pudding'. Arthur Warrell's 1935 arrangement for the University of Bristol made it a concert standard. In 3/4 it swings like a waltz, and the melody is built on one four-bar idea that moves up a step each time it comes back.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
Start on the pick-up D in bar 1. 'We wish you a merry Christmas' is G G A G F♯, then E E E; the same phrase repeats a step higher (A A B A G, then F♯ D D) and higher again (B B C B A, then G E D D). Bar 8 is the turn, E A F♯, resolving to G. 'Good tidings we bring' (bars 9–12) sits on long G's and F♯'s — the only place the tune stays still. The last line, 'we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year', is the opening idea one more time, ending on the four D's and the E A F♯ turn.
Letter notes, bar by bar (right hand)
Read left to right; a | is a bar line. Chord symbols are for the left hand or a guitar.
| Bar | Chord | Right-hand letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | |
| 2 | Gmaj7 | G G A G F♯ |
| 3 | C | E E E |
| 4 | Bm7 | A A B A G |
| 5 | Gmaj7 | F♯ D D |
| 6 | Cmaj7 | B B C B A |
| 7 | C | G E D D |
| 8 | D | E A F♯ |
| 9 | G | G D |
| 10 | G | G G |
| 11 | D | F♯ F♯ |
| 12 | C | G F♯ E |
| 13 | D | D A |
| 14 | G | B A G |
| 15 | G | D D D D |
| 16 | D | E A F♯ |
| 17 | G | G |
Three things to watch
- Bars 1–4 and 5–8 are the same pattern one note higher each time — G, then A, then B.
- “Good tidings we bring” (bar 9) is the only place the tune sits still: long G, long F♯.
- The pick-up D at the very start is not a mistake; the first bar has only one beat.
Have a different version, or a different song? Upload your own sheet music — a photo or PDF — and Notalo writes the letters under every note the same way, plus chords and a MIDI file.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this sheet music free to print and use?
Yes. We Wish You a Merry Christmas is in the public domain and this arrangement was written and rendered by Notalo. Print it, share it, use it in lessons.
What do the colors mean?
Red letters are the right hand (treble clef), blue letters are the left hand (bass clef), green is the chord for the bar. This is the same output Notalo gives for any sheet music you upload.
Can I get it with Do Re Mi or numbers instead of letters?
Yes — download the image above, upload it to Notalo, and pick solfège (Do Re Mi), German letters, or numbers (1 2 3) as the label style.