All I Want For Christmas Is You | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Gmaj7 | Am7 D |
Intro verse (slow)
| G | G | G/B | G/B |
I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need.
| C | C | Eb6 | Eb6 |
I don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree.
| G/D | G/D B7 | Em | Em Eb6 |
I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.
| G/D | E7 | E7 | Am7 | D7b9 | D7b9 | D7b9 | D7b9 |
Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas, is you.
Instrumental 1
| G | Em | C | D7 |
Yeah.
Verse 1 (a tempo)
| G | G | G | G |
I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need (and I).
| C | C | Eb6 | Eb6 |
Don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree.
| G | G | G | G |
I don’t need to hang my stocking, there upon the fireplace.
| C | C | Eb6 | Eb6 |
Santa Claus won’t make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day.
| G/D | G B7 | Em | Em Eb6 |
I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.
| G/D | E7 | Am7 | D7 |
Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you.
Instrumental 2
| G | Em | C | D7 |
You, baby.
Verse 2
Oh, I won’t ask for much this Christmas, I won’t even wish for snow (and I).
I’m just gonna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe.
I won’t make a list and send it, to the North Pole for Saint Nick.
I won’t even stay awake to hear those magic reindeer click.
‘Cause I just want you here tonight, holding on to me so tight.
What more can I do? Oh, baby, all I want for Christmas is you.
Instrumental 3
| G | Em | C | D7 |
You, baby.
Middle 8
| B7 | B7 | Em | Em |
Oh-oh, all the lights are shining so brightly everywhere (so brightly, baby).
| B7 | B7 | Em | Em |
And the sound of children’s laughter fills the air (oh, oh, yeah).
| Eb6 | Eb6 | G/D | E7 |
And everyone is singing (oh, yeah), I hear those sleigh bells ringing.
| Am9 | Am9 |
Santa, won’t you bring me the one I really need? (Yeah, oh).
| D7 | D7 |
Won’t you please bring my baby to me?
Verse 3 (shorter)
| G | G | G | G |
Oh, I don’t want a lot for Christmas, this is all I’m asking for.
| C | C | Eb6 | Eb6 |
I just wanna see my baby standing right outside my door.
| G/D | G B7 | Em | Em Eb6 |
Oh, I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.
| G/D | E7 | Am7 | D7 |
Make my wish come true, oh baby, all I want for Christmas, is you.
Instrumental 4
| G | Em | C | D7 |
You, baby.
Outro
||: G | Em | Am7 | D6 D9 :||
All I want for Christmas is you, baby.
All I want for Christmas is you, baby.
All I want for Christmas is you, baby.
All I want for Christmas (all I really want) is you, baby.
All I want (I want) for Christmas (all I really want) is you, baby.
All I Want For Christmas Is You Chords: Learn the progressions
All I Want For Christmas Is You’s chords is full of classic movements, let’s look at them section by section, starting with the intro.
Before the singing starts, we have a I – II – V. To see exactly how this can be played on the guitar, check the TAB lesson here: All I Want For Christmas – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The intro verse is the same as all other verses, just more drawn out in places. You can use the chords and lyrics above or the chord chart below to see exactly how.
Here’s the first half of All I Want For Christmas verse chords, with Roman Numerals.
||: G (I) | G | G | G |
| C (IV) | C | Eb6 (titone sub) | Eb6 :||
The first thing that happens is that we move from I – IV, followed by tension. This tension is a tritone substitution from chord II (Am). We play a tritone away and get an Eb. Unusually, instead of being a dom7, it’s a 6-chord instead.
This Eb resolves very well after the repeat when we play a G/D. Here’s the second half of the verse chords:
| G/D (I/5) | G (I) B7 (IIIx) | Em (VI) | Em Eb6 (tritone sube) |
| G/D (I/5) | E7 (VIx) | Am7 (II) | D7 (V) |
After the I chord with its 5th in the bass, we move I – IIIx – VI, another classic movement. This is followed by that same Eb6 – G/D we had earlier.
The last three chords use the up a 4th movement of VIx – II – V.
Make sure you can hear and feel the IIIx and VIx chords as well as all the super common movement II – V.
After the verse, we get a quick instrumental section that goes I – VI – IV – V.
Let’s also look at the bridge or as I like to call it, middle 8. I prefer this name for a section that only appears once. These are the chords:
||: B7 (IIIx) | B7 | Em (VI) | Em :||
| Eb6 | Eb6 | G/D | E7 |
| Am9 | Am9 | D7 | D7 |
The sharp-eyed chord enthusiast can spot how after looping a IIIx – VI, we use the same chords as in the verse, just drawn out and extended.
In the TAB lesson, we look at how to comp this using the closest possible chord shape. Once this is mastered, a chord chart may be nice as it’s easy to forget something you only play for a month once a year!
All I Want For Christmas Is You Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
This is not the best chord chart I’ve ever written. Having a chord per bar that small isn’t ideal, especially when there are bars with two chords. Still, I managed to get All I Want For Christmas chords on one page!
Should you want to download my chord chart, here’s a PDF: All I Want For Christmas Is You Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: All I Want For Christmas Is You iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key should your singer feel under the weather from doing too many Christmas gigs. Or maybe you want to alter my layout, perhaps put it on two pages instead.
Did Mariah steal Christmas?!?
A few years before Mariah Carey released her universal yearly hit All I Want For Christmas Is You, another band, Vince Vance & The Valiants released a tune with the exact same title.
There is not much similarity between the two compositions, apart from the title and melody of the main hook!
You could also argue that the boogie-woogie piano and chord progression is similar, however, I can’t see that stand up in court. Still, the words and the melody of the hook certainly is close…
So the question remains, did Mariah steal Christmas? Well, I think there’s an argument for how inspiration definitely must have been there and perhaps a small percentage should be donated to Vince Vance and his Valiants. After all, it is Christmas!
The case has been to court twice and if I were the judge, I’d give it 5-10%. What do you think?
I mean, the title and main hook are a pretty big part of a tune…
All I Want For Christmas Is You Chords | Related Pages
All I Want For Christmas Is You | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn how to play All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey using TAB and chord analysis.
I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Driving Home For Christmas
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- Last Christmas
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
- White Christmas
Mariah Carey tunes
Discovered by Record label boss and future husband, Tommy Mottola, Mariah Carey became one of the best-known singers of the ’90s.
Her best-known tunes include Without You, Hero, Emotions, Dreamlover, When You Believe, and Vision of Love.
Mariah Carey on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about All I Want For Christmas Is You chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
