We Wish You a Merry Christmas

This is a traditional English carol, so the words and the tune are both in the public domain. It is in waltz time: count “1, 2, 3” and lean on the first beat of each group.

The tab sits in the upper half of the harmonica. The highest note is the 9 blow on “Christ-” in the last line.

Harmonica tabs

Verse 1

6  7    7   -8 7    -7 -6      -5
We wish you a  mer- ry Christ- mas,

-6 -8   -8  8 -8   7  -7      6
We wish you a mer- ry Christ- mas,

-7 8    8   -9 8    -8 7       -6
We wish you a  mer- ry Christ- mas,

6   6 -6   -8 -7  7
And a hap- py New Year.

Refrain

6    7    7    7  -7
Good tid- ings we bring

-7 7   -7  -6   6
To you and your kin.

-8 8    -8  -8 7    7  9       6
We wish you a  mer- ry Christ- mas

6   6 -6   -8 -7  7
And a hap- py New Year.

Verse 2

The second verse uses the same tab as verse 1:

Now bring us some figgy pudding,
Now bring us some figgy pudding,
Now bring us some figgy pudding,
And bring some out here.

Playing tips

• The three “We wish you” lines in verse 1 each start one note higher than the last: 6, then -6, then -7. Listening for that climb helps you find the first note of each line.
• “Christ-mas” in the last line of the refrain leaps from 9 down to 6. Move the harmonica, not your head.
• Words and music: traditional English. Public domain.