Music
Music › C major › Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns is written in C major, with 2 chords: C and G. Tap Fits a small voice and I’ll move the whole song to where you can sing it.
The tune goes from C4 to E4: try “Fits a small voice”.
CHotGcrossCbuns!
CHotGcrossCbuns!
COneapenny,Gtwoapenny,
ChotGcrossCbuns!
CHotGcrossCbuns!
CHotGcrossCbuns!
COneapenny,Gtwoapenny,
ChotGcrossCbuns!
Traditional English street cry. Public domain. peabody.kids/music
Hot Cross Buns was a street cry: what a baker called out in London to sell buns. It was printed in Poor Robin's Almanack in 1733 and as a round in the London Chronicle in 1767. It uses only three notes, which is why it is often the first song on a recorder.
Words: Street cry, Poor Robin's Almanack (1733); London Chronicle (1767). Tune: Traditional English, 18th century. Both were printed before 1931, so the song is in the public domain in the United States: anyone may sing it, print it and share it. Peabody wrote out the tune and the chords for this page. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Cross_Buns_(song).
The tune runs from C4 to E4 in C major. For a class from Pre-K to 2nd grade, try F major (F, C), which keeps it inside F4 to A4.
On a ukulele: F major (F, C). On a guitar: C major (C, G).
The sing-along plays the tune and lights each word as it is sung.
Look up any chord in the Chord Finder, or see every song in C major.
Checked 2026-10-31.
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