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Chords and Lyrics for Once in Royal David's City

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Music by Henry John Gauntlett
Words by Cecil Frances Alexander

VERSE 1

G    D7 G     D         G 
Once in royal David's city,

      Em G    Am D   G 
Stood a lowly cattle shed,

      D7 G     A7       D7 G 
Where a mother laid her Baby,

   Em G     Am  D   G 
In a manger for His bed;

C    G        D7     G 
Mary was that mother mild,

C     G          Am D   G 
Jesus Christ her little Child. 

  
VERSE 2

G  D7   G       D              G 
He came down to earth from heaven,

    Em G       Am   D  G 
Who is God and Lord of all;

    D7  G       A7    D7 G 
And His shelter was a stable,

    Em  G      Am  D G 
And His cradle was a stall;

C        G         D7        G 
With the poor, and mean, and lowly 

C        G         Am D    G 
Lived on earth our Saviour holy. 

  
VERSE 3

G   D7      G       D             G 
And through all His wondrous childhood,

   Em    G      Am  D G 
He would honour and obey,

      D7  G         A7    D7 G 
Love, and watch the lowly maiden,

   Em    G      Am   D  G 
In whose gentle arms He lay;

C         G        D7       G 
Christian children all must be 

C      G        Am   D  G 
Mild, obedient, good as He. 

  
VERSE 4

G   D7 G      D              G 
For He is our childhood's pattern;

    Em G        Am D  G 
Day by day like us He grew;

   D7  G       A7       D7  G 
He was little, weak and helpless,

      Em  G           Am D  G 
Tears and smiles like us He knew;

C      G       D7      G 
And He feeleth for our sadness,

C      G       Am D   G 
And He shareth in our gladness. 

  
VERSE 5

G   D7  G       D              G 
And our eyes at last shall see Him,

        Em  G     Am  D   G 
Through His own redeeming love;

    D7   G        A7       D7 G 
For that Child so dear and gentle

   Em  G          Am  D G 
Is our Lord in heaven above;

C      G         D7       G 
And He leads His children on

C      G           Am D  G 
To the place where He is gone.

  
VERSE 6

G   D7 G         D        G 
Not in that poor lowly stable,

     Em  G    Am   D   G 
With the oxen standing by,

   D7    G        A7     D7  G 
We shall see Him; but in heaven,

    Em G           Am   D  G 
Set at God's right hand on high;

C         G         D7       G 
When like stars His children crowned,

C      G           Am   D G 
All in white shall wait around.

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Chords

Below is a list of all the chords in this song. Click on a chord to learn how to play the chord on a particular instrument.

Instrument Chords
Banjo A7 A Minor C Major D Major D7 E Minor G Major
Guitar A7 A Minor C Major D Major D7 E Minor G Major
Mandolin A7 A Minor C Major D Major D7 E Minor G Major
Piano A7 A Minor C Major D Major D7 E Minor G Major
Ukulele A7 A Minor C Major D Major D7 E Minor G Major

Sheet Music for Once in Royal David's City

Chords on this page may be simplified from the original version. View the sheet music for this title to see the original chords. The following sheet music is available for this title: