God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen – Guitar Tab

This post features a fingerstyle arrangement “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” with a link to the solo guitar tab and the sheet music (chords, melody, and lyrics). All music transcriptions are available for download as PDFs.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” also known as “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” is a traditional English Christmas carol. A Christmas carol is a festive song or hymn where the lyrics reflect the theme of Christmas. The first known Christmas hymns can be traced to 4th-century Rome.  

Although the composer of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is unknown, records of it being sung in the Christian church date back to the 15th century. In 1760 the song’s lyrics were first put in print under the title, “Three New Christmas Carols.” It gained popularity in 1833 when along with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” it appeared in print in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) by William Sandys.

The melody is in a minor key. When combined with the lyrics, it has a haunting quality to it. The first verse tells of Christ being born on Christmas day “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” The verse ends with the uplifting lyrics, “O tidings of comfort and joy,” contrasting the dark, minor harmony.

Here is a performance of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” for fingerstyle solo guitar.

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God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen – Tab

The sheet music below includes tablature, standard notation, chord symbols, and guitar chord diagrams. This is a fingerstyle solo guitar arrangement, also called a chord melody.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Fingerstyle Guitar Tab

Download “God Rest Y Merry, Gentlemen” Tab (2 Pages) as a PDF.

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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Sheet Music

The sheet music below is are lead sheets (chords, melody, and lyrics) for “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” in the keys of A minor and E minor.

This is a 1-page lead sheet. The melody is in standard notation with chord symbols and guitar chord diagrams above the staff. The complete lyrics are on a separate page. View the samples below for more detail.

Download the sheet music for “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” as a PDF.

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