Fairytale of New York | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
|4/4 G Dmaj7 D/F# G D/F# | A D5 |
Verse (slow)
| D5 | A/G G |
It was Christmas Eve, babe. In the drunk tank.
| D/F# G D/F# | A6 A5 |
An old man said to me, won’t see another one.
| D5 | A/G G |
And then he sang a song. The Rare Old Mountain Dew.
| D/F# G D/F# | A5 D5 D5/A |
I turned my face away, and dreamed about you.
Verse 2 (slow)
| D5 | A/G G |
Got on a lucky one. Came in eighteen to one.
| D/F# G D/F# | A6 A5 |
I’ve got a feeling, this year’s for me and you.
| D5 | A/G G |
So happy Christmas, I love you baby.
| D/F# G D/F# | A5 D5 G | Dmaj7 D/F# G D/F# A5 |
I can see a better time, when all our dreams come true.
Instrumental 1
|6/8 D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A | D5 G | A D |
Verse 3 (a tempo)
| D5 A | Bm G |
They’ve got cars big as bars, they’ve got rivers of gold.
| D5 D5/A | D5 A |
But the wind goes right through you, it’s no place for the old.
| D5 Bm | D5 G |
When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve.
| D5 D5/A | A D |
You promised me Broadway was waiting for me.
Verse 4
| D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A |
You were handsome, You were pretty, Queen of New York City.
| D5 G | A D |
When the band finished playing, they howled out for more.
| D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A |
Sinatra was swinging, all the drunks they were singing.
| D5 G | A D5 |
We kissed on a corner then danced through the night.
Chorus 1
| G | G | D | Bm |
The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay.
| G | A |
And the bells were ringing out for Christmas Day.
Instrumental 2 (as verse 3)
| D5 A | Bm G |
| D5 D5/A | D5 A |
| D5 Bm | D5 G |
| D5 D5/A | A D |
Verse 5 (as verse 4)
You’re a bum, you’re a punk. You’re an old slut on junk.
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed.
You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot.
Happy Christmas your arse. I pray God it’s our last.
Chorus 2
The boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay.
And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day.
Instrumental 3
| D5 | D5 | A/G G | G |
| D D/F# | D/F# G D/F# | A D5/A |
Verse 6 (breakdown)
| D5/A | D5 | D5 | G | G |
I could have been someone. Well so could anyone.
| D5 | D5 | A | A |
You took my dreams from me when I first found you.
| D5 D5/A | D5/A | A/G G | G |
I kept them with me babe, I put them with my own.
| D5 D/F# | D/F# G D/F# |3/8 A5 |6/8 D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A |
Can’t make it all alone, I’ve built my dreams around you.
Chorus 3
| G | G | D | Bm |
The boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay.
| D5 N.C | N.C A5 |
And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day.
Outro
||: D5 | D5 Dmaj7 | G |
| G D/A | D | G D/F# A |
|1. A5 | A :||
|2. D5 | A :||
Fairytale of New York Chords: Understanding the Chord Manipulations
Who would have thought that just four chords—I, IV, V, and VI in the key of D—could be so incredibly intricate?
Fairytale of New York is a masterclass in arrangement. Let’s break down how these seemingly simple chords are constantly manipulated, starting with the sophisticated intro:
| G Dmaj7 D/F# G D/F# | A D5 |
Here, we’re in 4/4 time, playing in a free, almost rubato style. G is IV, D is I, and D/F# is I/3. The A chord functions as V.
To capture the piano part on guitar, basic chords won’t be enough—you’ll need TAB. Follow this link: Fairytale of New York – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
After this beautiful introduction, we get two slow verses. They’re nearly identical, with only the last line varied:
| D5 | A/G G |
| D/F# G D/F# |
|1.3 A6 A5 :||
|2. A5 D5 D5/A :||
|4. A5 D5 G | Dmaj7 D/F# G D/F# A5 |
That final line closely resembles the intro, though it’s not identical (see the TAB for details).
Next, we shift to 6/8 time for an instrumental section:
|6/8 D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A | D5 G | A D |
I initially arranged this with plenty of strumming, but eventually settled on a picked part to better replicate the full-band sound. It’s fast—so not an easy one to play!
This 6/8 feel carries into the next verse. The first verse in this tempo (Verse 3) has its own unique set of chords:
| D5 A | Bm G | D5 D5/A |
|1. D5 A :||
|2. A D |
These chords return for the second instrumental section, but never again for a verse.
More Fairytale of New York chords!
Verses 4 and 5 follow this repeating progression:
||: D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A | D5 G | A D :||
At nearly two minutes into this four-and-a-half-minute song, the chorus finally arrives. It’s brief, with these chords:
| G | G | D | Bm | G | A |
For Chorus 3, there’s a stop in bar 5—not on G, but on D. The band re-enters halfway through bar 6 on A, like this:
| G | G | D | Bm | D5 N.C | N.C A5 |
The next new section, instrumental 3, serves as a breakdown leading into verse 6. If you, like me, want to include the string lines, it looks like this:
| D5 | D5 | A/G G | G |
| D D/F# | D/F# G D/F# | A D5/A |
For verse 6, I suggest starting with simpler chords before bringing back the fuller instrumental style. Here’s the first half:
| D5/A | D5 | D5 | G | G |
| D5 | D5 | A | A |
In the second half, we start layering in the string lines again:
| D5 D5/A | D5/A | A/G G | G |
| D5 D/F# | D/F# G D/F# |3/8 A5 |6/8 D5 D5/A | D5 D5/A |
That 3/8 bar isn’t as complicated as it sounds—it’s just a 6/8 bar cut in half.
For the outro, the structure builds on familiar elements but introduces a few new touches:
||: D5 | D5 Dmaj7 | G |
| G D/A | D | G D/F# A |
|1. A5 | A :||
|2. D5 | A :||
Playing Fairytale of New York on one guitar is no small task—it took me three days to figure out how to make it work and transcribe everything properly.
Once you’ve worked through the extensive TAB I’ve created for this classic, a chord chart should be enough to jog your memory for your Christmas gig.
Fairytale of New York Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download my chord chart, here’s a PDF: Fairytale of New York chord chart PDF p1 and Fairytale of New York Chord Chart PDF p2.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to those files: Fairytale of New York chord chart iReal Pro p1 and Fairytale of New York chord chart iReal Pro p2.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key (something I would personally refuse to do in this case).
Can Fairytale of New York Survive the Woke Era?
In the 2020s, the rules have changed—words can hurt as much as sticks and stones.
The most controversial word in Fairytale of New York is faggot. Since neither of the singers (both now deceased) was gay, some consider its inclusion homophobic. However, in Irish slang, the word originally referred to a lazy person rather than a slur.
Even back in 1992, there was awareness that the lyric might be problematic. During a Top of the Pops performance, Kirsty MacColl changed faggot to haggard. She also modified arse to ass at the request of BBC bosses.
By 2020, BBC radio stations had taken further action—muting slut and replacing faggot with haggard in broadcast versions of the song. These changes were meant to reduce controversy and maintain the BBC’s broad appeal while aligning with evolving social expectations.
However, altering lyrics raises questions about artistic integrity. Does tweaking a song show respect for contemporary values, or does it dilute the creator’s original vision?
One could argue that changing lyrics compromises authenticity and cultural significance. On the other hand, those in power may see such adjustments as necessary for keeping the song relevant and accessible to modern audiences.
There’s a term for what the BBC has been doing to Fairytale of New York since the early ’90s: virtue signalling.
Meanwhile, the BBC itself seems to generate a new internal scandal every year.
Perhaps you could write a song about this dilemma?
Fairytale of New York Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Fairytale of New York (The Pogues) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
- All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Bird on the Wire
- Last Christmas
- Little Lion Man
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus