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the hand-crafted music library of @davidpots

  

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O Holy Night

Sufjan Stevens

from the album Songs for Christmas released in 2006

jump to: lyrics / notes & tabs / videos / chord progressions / song info

Lyrics

Intro

    C ..... C ..... C ..... C ..... 


Verse

    C                   F                  C 
    O holy night... the stars are brightly shining
              C            G             C 
    It is the night of our dear savior's birth
    C                        F             C 
    Long lay the world... in sin and error pining
             Em              B7            Em 
    'Til he appeared and the soul felt its worth


Pre-Chorus

          G                   C 
        A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices
            G               C 
        For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn


Chorus

            Am                Em             Dm             Am 
            Fall----- on your knees------- O hear the angel voices
              C       G       C      F       C      G                   C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- when Christ was born
              G               C      F       C      G             C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- O night divine


Instrumental Break

    C ..... C ..... F ..... C ..... C .....
    C ..... G ..... C ..... C .....           
                             (played twice)


Verse

    C                     F          C 
    Truly he taught us to love one another
               C            G         C 
    His law is love and his gospel is peace
    C                              F            C 
    Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
               Em        B7              Em 
    And in his name all oppression shall cease


Pre-Chorus

              G               C 
        Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus rise we
            G             C 
        Let all within us praise his holy name


Chorus

            (louder)
            Am                Em             Dm             Am 
            Fall----- on your knees------- O hear the angel voices
              C       G       C      F       C      G                   C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- when Christ was born
              G               C      F       C      G             C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- O night divine

            (quieter)
            Am                Em             Dm             Am 
            Fall----- on your knees------- O hear the angel voices
              C       G       C      F       C      G                   C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- when Christ was born
              G               C      F       C      G             C 
            O night-------- divine-------- O night----- O night divine

                                                      (let final C ring to end)

Notes & Tabs

Guitar Chords Used

Here is how to play the guitar chords used in this song.

e-|---0----1----3----0----0----1----2----
B-|---1----1----0----0----1----3----0----
G-|---0----2----0----0----2----2----2----
D-|---2----3----0----2----2----0----1----
A-|---3----3----2----2----0---------2----
E-|--------1----3----0-------------------
      C    F    G    Em   Am   Dm   B7

Props to the Original Songwriter

Of course, I am aware that Sufjan Stevens is not the original writer of this song. I give him credit here only because it is his version I enjoy the most, and his version I model my playing after. For info about this song and its original author, see the entry on Wikipedia.

Videos

Sufjan Stevens Album Version

Here is an video/audio clip of the Sufjan Stevens version of this song from his Christmas album. Listen along for reference.



Chord Progressions

Intro

| C . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |

Verse

"O holy night, the stars..."
| C . . . . . | C . . . . . | F . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |
| C . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |
"Long lay the world, in sin..."
| C  . . . . . | C  . . . . . | F  . . . . . | C  . . . . . | C . . . . . |
| Em . . . . . | B7 . . . . . | Em . . . . . | Em . . . . . |

Pre-Chorus

"A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices..."
| G . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |
| G . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |

Chorus

"Fall on your knees, oh hear..."
| Am . . . . . | Am . . . . . | Em . . . . . | Em . . . . . . |
| Dm . . . . . | Dm . . . . . | Am . . . . . | Am . . . . . . |
"O night, divine..." (first time)
| C . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | F . . . . . |
| C . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |
"O night, divine..." (second time)
| G . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | F . . . . . |
| C . . . . . | G . . . . . | C . . . . . | C . . . . . |

Song Info

Song: O Holy Night
Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Album: Songs for Christmas
Year: 2006
Label: Asthmatic Kitty

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.

You can also view my personal website or follow me on Twitter / Dribbble / GitHub / LinkedIn.