Away in a Manger Guitar Chords
Key of G 3/4 96 BPM 4 chords: G C Am D Beginner
The 4 chords of Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger is a gentle Christmas lullaby in three beats, and one of the easiest carols on guitar: G, C, Am and D, with plenty of time on each. The four lines follow the same shape, a long G, a short visit to C or Am, and home again, which makes it ideal for a child's first Christmas song. This chord sheet gives you the three traditional verses with every chord over its word, and the sixteen-bar progression they share. Strum softly, one down strum per beat or a bass note and two brushes, as if you were rocking a cradle.
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right), numbers are fingers. Tap a chord for every other way to play it.
Away in a Manger chords and lyrics
Each chord sits over the word where it changes. Keep strumming the same chord until the next one. Song credits: Words anonymous (1885), tune Mueller by James R. Murray (1887).
How to strum Away in a Manger
The song is in 3/4: 3 beats in every bar. Count them aloud, and strum down on the numbers and up on the "and".
Easy
Full
Three beats per bar, gently: a bass note on 1, a soft brush on 2 and 3.
Tips for Away in a Manger on guitar
The chords
G, C, Am and D, all open chords. Am appears once per verse, in the second line.
The tricky part
The last line moves a little faster: C, G, D, G, one bar each. Prepare each shape a beat early.
Change the key
To sing higher, keep the same shapes and put a capo on fret 2, which raises the song a whole step, or on fret 4 for two whole steps. The chords on this page and the guitar above stay the same; only the pitch changes.
The story of Away in a Manger
The first two verses were printed anonymously in Philadelphia in 1885, and a third was added a few years later. The tune most sung in America, Mueller, was composed by James R. Murray in 1887; in Britain it is sung to William J. Kirkpatrick's Cradle Song of 1895.
For a long time it was wrongly credited to Martin Luther, as a song he wrote for his children.
Source: Words anonymous (1885), tune Mueller (James R. Murray, 1887), public domain; chords in G by GOONS Studio.
Frequently asked
What are the chords to Away in a Manger?
In G: G, C, G for the first line, G, Am, D for the second, G, C, G for the third, and C, G, D, G to end.
Is Away in a Manger easy on guitar?
Yes: four open chords that change slowly in a waltz rhythm. It is a good first carol for children.
Who wrote Away in a Manger?
The words are anonymous, first printed in Philadelphia in 1885. Two tunes are common: Mueller by James R. Murray (1887) and Cradle Song by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895).
Record your own Away in a Manger
The guitar on this page is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the rest of the band in the browser - drum machines, a bass, a sampled piano and a sequencer - to record your own version of the song, with a 7-day free trial, no card required.