Celine Dion - O Holy Night - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords G, D, C, Bm, Em, Gbm, D/F#, Am Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G
O holy night
      C                   G
The stars are brightly shining
            G            D              G
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth
G                       C              G
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
           Bm            Gbm             Bm
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
    D                  G
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
      D              G                      D/F#
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Em             Bm
Fall on your knees

     Am              Em
Oh, hear the angel voices
  G   D     G   C
O night divine
    G   D                 G
Oh night when Christ was born
   D       G    C
O night divine
      G
Oh, night
D          G
Oh night divine

  G        Bm          C          G
Truly He taught us to love one another
            G             D        G
His law is love and His gospel is peace
  G              Bm              C            G
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother
            Bm           Gbm           Bm
And in His name all oppression shall cease
        D                 G
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
     D              G                 D/F#
Let all within us praise His holy name
Em              Bm
Christ is the Lord
       Am             Em
Their name forever praise we

G    D
Noel
G    C
Noel
     G    D         G
Oh night, o night divine
 D
Noel
G    C
Noel
    G    D           G
Oh night, o night divine 
 D
Noel
G    C
Noel
    G    D
Oh night
           G
Oh night divine

End of song Play again?

Celine Dion - O Holy Night Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Celine Dion – O Holy Night: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on G. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the G major side because it both starts and finishes on G and G is heard 33 times against 4 for Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	33×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	2×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	8×
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	9×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	16×
V	D/F#	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	2×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	4×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—
vii	Gbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	2×

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	4×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
ii	Gbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	2×
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	33×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	2×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	8×
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	9×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	16×
VII	D/F#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	2×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 8 different chords appear 76 times in total; 7 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Gbm step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×16
C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×9
D/F# Em GV → videceptive cadence EmVII → iAeolian arrival ×2
Am Em Gii → vi Emiv → iminor plagal ×2

The move to watch is D → G, heard 16 times. From the G side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Em side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The opening G lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are G, D, C, Bm; read them as I–V–IV–iii in G or III–VII–VI–v in Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on D → G (V → I in G, VII → III in Em): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is G; the ear comes to rest in G.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.