I’ll Be Home for Christmas

This is one of my favorite holiday songs. Written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent, recorded more than 80 years ago in 1943 by Bing Crosby. Many have recorded (covered) this song since, and one of my favorite renditions is the somewhat up-tempo bluegrass-styled version by the Brother Boys on the Sugar Hill collection “Tinsel Tunes”. Video is available on https://www.instagram.com/uropha/

My small contribution here is to try to craft a version that is tailored for ukulele. As with many songs in orchestral arrangements, the challenge is to preserve enough detail to capture the feel of the song without the complex chords of the original. Some of the adjustments are needed to accommodate the 4-string simplicity of the ukulele, or transpose the key (e.g., to suit the singer’s voice), or change the style.

Below are the basic chords, shown in diagram form, along with the skeleton of a song sheet, enough to get a person started learning it. These items are for educational purposes only, not for commercial use. They represent my interpretation of the music.

Uke chords, standard GCEA tuning, use Bm7 instead of Bm
Intro, verse 1 & 2, outro. Usually played with instrumental on the verse chords, followed by verses 1 and 2 again, and the outro. The first time through verse 2, end on G chord to lead into instrumental.
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About timmo53

Biology, natural history, outdoor education and roots music - ukulele, voice, harmonica
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