We Wish You a Merry Christmas ✧
A familiar Christmas greeting with short, repeating finger patterns.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
Christmas greeting
Good tidings
D whistle · G major · 3/4 · 120 BPM · + upper octave
Christmas greeting
Good tidings
Lyrics
Traditional English carol
Sing the chorus after each verse, then return to the opening greeting.
We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, And a happy New Year.
Chorus Good tidings we bring To you and your kin; Good tidings for Christmas And a happy New Year!
Now, bring us some figgy pudding, Now, bring us some figgy pudding, Now, bring us some figgy pudding, And bring it right here.
We won't go until we get some, We won't go until we get some, We won't go until we get some, So bring it right here.
We all like our figgy pudding, We all like our figgy pudding, We all like our figgy pudding, With all its good cheers.
About this tune
We Wish You a Merry Christmas is an English carol built around a repeated greeting and a good-tidings refrain. Its direct address gives it the feel of a song carried from one household to another.
Short rising phrases give the melody a buoyant character. The repeated greeting contrasts with the broader refrain, which brings the song to a confident close.
Performances
Watch musicians play this tune on tin whistle. Keys and arrangements may differ from the tabs above.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas on tin whistle
Stephen Ducke (Tradschool)
A close-up performance showing the player’s fingering on a D tin whistle.
Watch on YouTube — We Wish You a Merry Christmas on tin whistle by Stephen Ducke (Tradschool) (opens in a new tab) ↗