Sam Smith - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords Dm, F, Gm, C7, Bb, C, Am, A7 … Easy key C (capo 5)

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F        Dm     Gm             C7
 Have yourself a merry little Christmas
F          Dm       Gm   C7
 Let your heart be light
   F      Dm         Gm            C7       A7  D7 G7 C7
 From now on, your troubles will be out of sight

  F        Dm     Gm             C7
 Have yourself a merry little Christmas
F          Dm       Gm C7
 Make the Yuletide gay
   F      Dm         Gm              A7     Dm Gm C F
 From now on, your troubles will be miles away

Bb                   Am
 Here were are as in olden days
        Gm             Fmaj7
 Happy golden days of yore
Dm                         Am
 Faithful friends who are dear to us
         G               C7
 Gather near to us once more

    F         Dm      Gm             C7
 Through the years we all will be together
F        Dm      Gm C7
 If the Fates allow
  F       Dm      Gm           A7      Dm Gm C F
 Hang a shining star upon the highest bough

     Bb       Am     Gm             Bb  C
 So have yourself a merry little Christmas
Am        Dm     F            C     Bb
 Have yourself a merry little Christmas
     Am      Dm      Bb             C       Gb7  A7  Bb C7 F
 So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F major side because it both starts and finishes on F and the major V chord points straight at Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	13×
Imaj7	Fmaj7	Tonic — home	F · A · C · E	1×
bII7	Gb7	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	1×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	13×
V7/V	G7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Csecondary dominant	G · B · D · F	1×
V/V	G	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Csecondary dominant	G · B · D	1×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	5×
V7/vi	A7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	4×
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	6×
V7	C7	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G · Bb	10×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	5×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	14×
V7/ii	D7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	1×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	14×
V7/iv	D7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	1×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	13×
IIImaj7	Fmaj7	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C · E	1×
#III7	Gb7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	1×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	13×
IV7	G7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	G · B · D · F	1×
IV	G	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	G · B · D	1×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	5×
V7	A7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E · G	4×
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	6×
VII7	C7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G · Bb	10×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	5×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 13 different chords appear 75 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm. D7, G7, G act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Gb7 is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

C7 F FV7 → Iauthentic cadence DmVII7 → III ×9
Gm C7 Fii → V7ii → V Dmiv → VII7 ×7
A7 Dm FV7/vi → visecondary resolution DmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×2
C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×2
Gm A7 Fii → V7/vi Dmiv → V7iv → V ×2
Gm C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×2

The move to watch is C7 → F, heard 9 times. From the F side it reads V7 → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Dm side it is VII7 → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gm, land on G, Bb, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When A7 comes, swap the scale's C for C#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Gb7, follow the chord's notes (Gb · Bb · Db · Fb) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

Starting on F, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Dm, F, Gm, C7 carry the song: vi–I–ii–V7 relative to F, i–III–iv–VII7 relative to Dm. A7 is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on C7 → F (V7 → I in F, VII7 → III in Dm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. It closes on F, letting the F side have the last word.

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.