The sequence is an implied I-vi-iii-V, tried-and-tested on such previous pop classics as The Beatles' She Loves You (verse in G) and David Bowie's Starman (chorus in F) and lives on today in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Turn Into (C) and The Courteneers' No You Didn't, No You Don't (A). No huge surprises in this 8-bar section that showcases a four-chord cycle that follows a famous formula in the key of G.

Sure enough, that hanging D chord is soon understood as the dominant V of G - with the harmonium highlighting the 3rd degree (the F# at 0.06) that acts as a leading tone by resolving an effortless semitone higher to its new tonal home of G at the start of the verse. The opening bars remind us of Slade's love of descending basslines, with what appears to be a simple 8-7-6-5 drop down the Bb major scale being consistent with Cum On Feel The Noize (8-7-6 in G) and Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me (8-7-6-5 in E).īut as the bass continues to fall a further semitone to D (at 0.04), it soon transpires that the listener is being primed for a cheeky key change from Bb to the impending verse key of G. Let's take a suitably self-indulgent tour of some of the song's harmonic, melodic and rhythmic highlights. Shop Other Arrangements of 'Merry Xmas Everybody'Įasy Piano Digital Sheet Music for 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade Guitar Chords/Lyrics Digital Sheet Music for 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade 2-Part Choir Digital Sheet Music for 'Merry Xmas Everybody (arr.Beyond the anthemic lyrics mixing a universally hopeful message ('look to the future') with colourfully quaint images (Santa, sledges, stockings, 'your granny'), the music itself reveals touches of compositional genius that withstand the repeated listening that, every December, we cannot avoid.

Merry xmas everybody piano