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
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, have a happy holiday.
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab |
Everyone dancin’ merrily in the new old-fashioned way.
Solo
||: Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab :||
Bridge 2 (same as 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 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: Learn the progressions
There are some classic chord progressions we can learn loads from in Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.
First of all, playing in the key of Ab is going to be unfamiliar, giving us a great opportunity to check the old fretboard knowledge.
The intro and verse both have licks you will probably end up memorising; however, before you learn them, I recommend you play the chords first.
On the original recording, there are lots of backing vocals in place of the chords. I’m guessing that on your Christmas gig, there won’t be a choir so you may need to play the chords.
Once you can do this, adding the licks is the ideal outcome, making playing Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’s chords a proper challenge.
I want to help you on this journey so I have prepared TAB to get you going, here’s a link: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Anyway, let’s look at those chords! Here’s the intro, a classic I – VI – II – V progression:
| Ab6 (I) | Fm (VI) | Bbm7 (II) | Eb (V) Eb9 Eb6 Eb7 |
This chord progression later comes back for the outro (without the extensions) and is also where we play licks (check the TAB lesson). The Ab6, Fm, and Bbm7 share the same notes if you consider the licks played.
The verse is simpler, we only move from I to V and back. The spacing is slightly strange as we play 2, 5, and then 1 bar, like this:
| Ab (I) | Ab | Eb7 (V) | Eb7 |
| Eb7 | Eb7 | Eb7 | Ab (I) |
The bridge starts on chord IV (classic!) and then goes down to III. The following VI chord gets a descending bass line before we stop on a dom7 version of chord I, finishing on V, like this:
| Db | Db | Cm | Cm |
| Fm Fm/Eb | Fm/D Fm/C | Bb7 N.C | Eb7 |
The last verse moves up at the end, maintaining the Eb chord as the bass goes Eb – F – G – Bb (again, check the TAB lesson). A fun detail is how it’s Eb, Eb7, Eb. If you ignore the licks played, you could change the comping to still include this.
When you can play the TAB and feel comfortable in any position, you’ll be able to improvise the way you play Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’s chords.
Doing this is essential to survive as a pro guitarist, you must make the Christmas gig fun, not a drag!
Here’s a chord chart which is all you need once you’ve gotten all these chords tamed. Hopefully, the singer will on the day get you to change the key – another challenge!
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 PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro. Here’s a link to the file: Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 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!
Recorded when Brenda was merely 13 years old, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree didn’t amount to much when first released in 1958.
Over three decades later, it featured in the blockbuster Home Alone (1990) and became world famous.
In 2023 it was released as a single again, now claiming the top spot, 65 years after its initial release, making Brenda the oldest artist to have a #1.
Spotify numbers in late 2024 amount to 1.14 billion. On YouTube, the music video has racked up 50 million views in less than a year, not bad considering all those probably came in one month!
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree Chords | Related Pages
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee using TAB and a chord analysis
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Baby Love
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- My Guy
- You Can’t Hurry Love
Brenda Lee tunes
Brenda Lee is known for a string of hits during the 60s, charting 47 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her best tunes include Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Sweet Nothin’s, Fool #1, I’m Sorry, and Break It To Me Gently.
Brenda Lee on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’s 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 by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.
