Deck The Halls- Free Sheet Music and Lyrics

This document contains the instrumental, vocal, and guitar parts to the traditional Christmas Carol , Deck The Halls. Over the centuries Deck The Halls has had many minor changes made to its lyrics, but the tune itself remains basically unchanged. 

The Origins of the Christmas Carol, Deck The Halls: 

Believed to have originated in Wales in the mid to late 1500's, the song we now know today as Deck The Halls may have come from another traditional folk song  named Nos Galan (click here to hear a MIDI file of the original Nos Galan melody ).  The original words were quite different and had nothing to do with the Christmas season as we have come to accept today.  A rough translation of the original Welsh lyrics results in this strange stanza:

To the troubled cold (i.e. chilling) are the bills
Which come during the holidays;
Listening to a sermon in one verse;
Spending more than you earn.

This is a far cry from the now traditional lyrics that we sing each year while sipping an egg nog.   The song was brought to the United States and adapted to fit with the more seasonal lyrics of today.  It's first official publication was in 1881 in a book of English songs titled "The Franklin Square Song Collection ," compiled by J.P. McCaskey.

Printed below are instrumental and vocal sheet music parts for all standard concert band instruments as well as guitar (in both notation and tablature formats).  The full score can be transposed and printed in any key you desire.  This music can be freely used for personal or educational uses, but is not to be published or posted online without the permission of the arranger. 

The arrangements below by Chad Criswell and MusicEdMagic.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.  There is no charge for these materials, but educational institutions that use them in their classrooms are asked to provide a link either in their printed concert programs or on their school web site linking to MusicEdMagic.com.

Deck The Halls

#	Name	Size	Downloaded
1	Deck The Halls Voice (View)	17.62 kB	2285 times
2	Deck The Halls Tuba (View)	16.42 kB	1513 times
3	Deck The Halls Trumpet In Bb (View)	17.87 kB	3340 times
4	Deck The Halls Trombone Baritone (View)	15.72 kB	2736 times
5	Deck The Halls Percussion (View)	15.12 kB	512 times
6	Deck The Halls Horn In F (View)	15.97 kB	1027 times
7	Deck The Halls Glockenspiel (View)	16.32 kB	1305 times
8	Deck The Halls Flute Oboe (View)	15.86 kB	2802 times
9	Deck The Halls Clarinet In Bb (View)	17.87 kB	3236 times
10	Deck The Halls Alto Saxophone (View)	15.92 kB	3204 times
11	Deck The Halls Acoustic Guitar 2 (View)	15.81 kB	909 times
12	Deck The Halls Acoustic Guitar (View)	16.32 kB	1208 times
13	Deck The Halls Voice (View)	28.77 kB	1089 times
14	Deck The Halls Tuba (View)	27.87 kB	863 times
15	Deck The Halls Trumpet In Bb (View)	27.91 kB	1417 times
16	Deck The Halls Trombone Baritone (View)	27.85 kB	1317 times
17	Deck The Halls Percussion (View)	27.7 kB	289 times
18	Deck The Halls Horn In F (View)	27.85 kB	751 times
19	Deck The Halls Glockenspiel (View)	27.9 kB	741 times
20	Deck The Halls Flute Oboe (View)	27.87 kB	1361 times
21	Deck The Halls Clarinet In Bb (View)	27.91 kB	1676 times
22	Deck The Halls Alto Saxophone (View)	27.85 kB	1552 times
23	Deck The Halls Acoustic Guitar 02 (View)	27.85 kB	556 times
24	Deck The Halls Acoustic Guitar (View)	27.9 kB	723 times
25	Deck The Halls (View)	31.29 kB	1616 times

The full score below is provided for reference.  Individual parts and the lyrics to the song are available for download farther down on the page.

The lyrics (words) to Deck The Halls:

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
'Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol, 
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

See the blazing Yule before us, 
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Strike the harp and join the chorus.
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Follow me in merry measure,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
While I tell of Yule tide treasure, 
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Fast away the old year passes,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Sing we joyous, all together, 
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Heedless of the wind and weather,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Christmas and Sacred Sheet Music