Song facts
- Original key
- E minor
- Type
- Christmas carol
- Music
- John Henry Hopkins Jr. (died 1891)
- Original lyrics
- John Henry Hopkins Jr. (died 1891)
- First published
- 1863
Public-domain songs · Christmas carol instrumental
We Three Kings
Play the We Three Kings instrumental in the original key of E minor, or from 3 semitones lower to 2 higher. Made by MR Maker from a public-domain score.
Last reviewed:
Backing track by key
The original key is E minor. 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 (C♯ minor)
2 semitones lower (D minor)
Original key (E minor)
2 semitones higher (F♯ minor)
About this song
John Henry Hopkins Jr., an Episcopal clergyman who taught music at the General Theological Seminary in New York, wrote both words and tune. The familiar 1857 date has no contemporary proof; notices from late 1858 call it new, and it entered his Carols, Hymns, and Songs in 1863. He planned it as a small drama, each Magus taking a solo verse before a harmonized refrain. The verses sit in E minor and the refrain brightens to G major, in a lilting triple meter.
Rights
The melody is in the public domain (first published 1863). MR Maker made this accompaniment from a public-domain score. It contains no lyrics, translations or third-party recordings.
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