Song facts
- Original key
- F major
- Type
- Christmas carol
- Music
- Lewis H. Redner (died 1908)
- Original lyrics
- Phillips Brooks (died 1893)
- First published
- 1874
Public-domain songs · Christmas carol instrumental
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Play the O Little Town of Bethlehem instrumental in the original key of F major, or from 3 semitones lower to 2 higher. Made by MR Maker from a public-domain score.
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Backing track by key
The original key is F major. If it sits too high or too low for your voice, try the shifted versions and pick the one you can sing comfortably.
3 semitones lower (D major)
2 semitones lower (E♭ major)
Original key (F major)
2 semitones higher (G major)
About this song
Phillips Brooks, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, visited Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1865, and in 1868 he turned that memory into a carol for his Sunday school. His organist, Lewis H. Redner, wrote the music in haste, and the children first sang it on 27 December 1868. The words were printed in 1870, and in 1874 William R. Huntington's The Church Porch published the tune and named it ST. LOUIS. British churches often use FOREST GREEN instead. ST. LOUIS is mostly printed in F major, 4/4.
Rights
The melody is in the public domain (first published 1874). MR Maker made this accompaniment from a public-domain score. It contains no lyrics, translations or third-party recordings.
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