Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Ab6 | Fm | Bbm7 | Eb Eb9 Eb6 Eb7 |
Verse 1
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop.
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab |
Mistletoe hung where you can see every couple tries to stop.
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree let the Christmas spirit ring.
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab |
Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie and we’ll do some caroling.
Bridge 1
| Db | Db | Cm | Cm |
You will get a sentimental feeling, when you hear.
| Fm Fm/Eb | Fm/D Fm/C | Bb7 N.C | Eb7 |
Voices singing, let’s be jolly, deck the halls with boughs of holly.
Verse 2 (half)
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, have a happy holiday.
Everyone dancin’ merrily in the new old-fashioned way.
Solo
||: Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab :||
Bridge 2
You will get a sentimental feeling, when you hear.
Voices singing, let’s be jolly, deck the halls with boughs of holly.
Verse 3
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, have a happy holiday.
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 Eb/F | Eb/G Eb7/Bb |
Everyone dancin’ merrily in the new old-fashioned way.
Outro
| Ab6 | Fm | Bbm7 | (Eb) Ab |
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Chords: Unpacking the Classic Holiday Progression
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree offers a wealth of learning opportunities with its classic chord progressions. One of the most interesting aspects is playing in the key of Ab, which might feel unfamiliar and serve as a great test of your fretboard knowledge.
The intro and verse feature licks that you’ll likely end up memorising, but before diving into them, it’s important to first master the chords. The original recording has plenty of backing vocals in place of chords, but when you’re performing the song, you’ll need to play the chords yourself.
Once you’re comfortable with the basic chord progressions, adding the licks is the next step, turning the song into a true challenge. To help you on this journey, I’ve prepared a TAB lesson for you: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Now, let’s break down the chords:
Intro Chord Progression:
The intro follows a classic I – VI – II – V progression:
| Ab6 (I) | Fm (VI) | Bbm7 (II) | Eb (V) Eb9 Eb6 Eb7 |
This progression reappears in the outro, where we play it without extensions, and the licks fit well here too. Notably, the Ab6, Fm, and Bbm7 chords share common notes, complementing the licks beautifully.
Verse Chords:
The verse simplifies to a back-and-forth between I and V, though the timing shifts slightly. Here’s how it looks:
| Ab (I) | Ab | Eb7 (V) | Eb7 |
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab (I) |
Bridge Chords:
The bridge starts on the IV chord, followed by a move to the III. It includes a descending bass line and finishes on a dom7 version of the I chord, before resolving to V:
| Db | Db | Cm | Cm |
| Fm Fm/Eb | Fm/D Fm/C | Bb7 N.C | Eb7 |
Final Verse:
The final verse adds some harmonic movement as the bass moves Eb – F – G – Bb.
Once you’ve mastered the TAB and can play comfortably in any position, improvising your own interpretation of the chord progressions will become second nature. This skill is essential for making Christmas gigs work for several weeks.
Here’s a chord chart.
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download my chord chart, here’s a PDF: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro. Here’s a link to the file: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree chord chart iReal Pro.
You can change the key using this and the iRealPro app, which would provide an extra challenge for your last-minute Christmas gig.
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – A sleeper hit!
Originally recorded by a 13-year-old Brenda Lee in 1958, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree didn’t make much of an impact at first. However, more than three decades later, the song found new life after being featured in the iconic Home Alone (1990), propelling it to global fame.
Fast forward to 2023, and the song was re-released as a single, reaching the top spot on the charts, 65 years after its initial debut. This feat made Brenda Lee the oldest artist to ever hit #1.
As of late 2024, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree has accumulated over 1.14 billion streams on Spotify. On YouTube, the music video has seen an impressive 50 million views in less than a year, showcasing the song’s continued popularity.
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
- All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Baby Love
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- My Guy
- You Can’t Hurry Love