Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7, Em, E7, B7, D7 … Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Cmaj7     Am7       Dm7 G7  Cmaj7 
Christmas future is far a   way
Dm7       G7      Dm7    G7
Christmas past is past   
Cmaj7     Am7        B7     Em
Christmas present is here today 
Am7          D7           G7 
    bringing joy that may last
 
Cmaj7    Am7    Dm7          G7 
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Cmaj7    Am7      Dm7     G7
Let your heart be light
Cmaj7    Am7     Dm7              G7 
From now on, our troubles will be out of 
E7     A7     Dm7     G7
sight

Cmaj7    Am7    Dm7          G7 
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Cmaj7    Am7       Dm7    G7
Make the Yule tide gay, 
Cmaj7    Am7     Dm7              E7     Am  Ammaj7  Am7  C7
From now on, our troubles will be miles away

Fmaj7             Em 
Here we are as in olden days,
      Dm7         G7     Cmaj7
Happy golden days     of yore
Am7      B7              Em 
Faithful friends who are dear to us
       G          Am7      Dm7     G7
Gather near to us     once more

Cmaj7       Am7      Dm7           G7
Through the years we all will be together
Cmaj7  Am7    Dm7   G7   
If the Fates allow
Cmaj7  Am7     Dm7           E7      Am     Ammaj7   Am7   D7
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.  
    Fmaj7           Dm7          G7        C 
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

End of song Play again?

Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Frank Sinatra – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cmaj7 and ends on C. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because it both starts and finishes on C, Am is heard 20 times against 15 for C and the major V chord points straight at Am. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; 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 C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
Imaj7	Cmaj7	Tonic — home	C · E · G · B	13×
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	1×
V7/IV	C7	Secondary dominant V/IV — leads to Fsecondary dominant	C · E · G · Bb	1×
ii7	Dm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A · C	16×
V7/V	D7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	2×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	3×
V7/vi	E7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	3×
IVmaj7	Fmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C · E	2×
V7	G7	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D · F	15×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	1×
vi7	Am7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E · G	16×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	2×
vimaj7	Ammaj7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G#	2×
V7/ii	A7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	1×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—
V7/iii	B7	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A	2×

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Am7	Tonic — home	A · C · E · G	16×
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	2×
imaj7	Ammaj7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G#	2×
V7/iv	A7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	1×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
V7/v	B7	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A	2×
IIImaj7	Cmaj7	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G · B	13×
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	1×
V7/VI	C7	Secondary dominant V/VI — leads to Fsecondary dominant	C · E · G · Bb	1×
iv7	Dm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A · C	16×
IV7	D7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A · C	2×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	3×
V7	E7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B · D	3×
VImaj7	Fmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C · E	2×
VII7	G7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D · F	15×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	1×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 15 different chords appear 80 times in total; 9 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. B7, D7, A7, C7 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

Dm7 G7 Cii7 → V7ii → V Amiv7 → VII7 ×14
G7 Cmaj7 CV7 → Imaj7authentic cadence AmVII7 → IIImaj7 ×12
E7 Am CV7/vi → visecondary resolution AmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×2
B7 Em CV7/iii → iiisecondary resolution AmV7/v → v ×2
Dm7 E7 Cii7 → V7/vi Amiv7 → V7iv → V ×2
G7 C CV7 → Iauthentic cadence AmVII7 → III ×1

The move to watch is Dm7 → G7, heard 14 times. From the C side it reads ii7 → V7 (ii → V: the classic preparation of the dominant); from the Am side it is iv7 → VII7. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over Am7, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dm7, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over G7, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E7 comes, swap the scale's G for G#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Cmaj7; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are Am7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7; read them as vi7–ii7–V7–Imaj7 in C or i7–iv7–VII7–IIImaj7 in Am. E7 is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Dm7 → G7 (ii7 → V7 in C, iv7 → VII7 in Am): ii → V — the classic preparation of the dominant. The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in C.

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.