Standards · 1937
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- ABAC
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium-up swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1937
“All God's Chillun Got Rhythm” is a jazz standard by Kahn-Kaper from 1937. Most bands play it in F major, medium-up swing; the tune runs 32 bars in ABAC form. Harmonically it contains 4 major ii–V–I cadences and 6 minor ii–V–i, uses 14 different chords and moves between the key centres G minor, F major and A minor.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C7×11
- Gm7×9
- D7×6
- Fmaj7×5
- Dm7×5
- Am7×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
G minor, F major and A minor
Characteristics
- ABAC song form
History
"All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" is a 1937 jazz standard. It was written by Walter Jurmann, Gus Kahn and Bronisław Kaper especially for Ivie Anderson, who performed it in the Marx Brothers' 1937 film A Day at the Races. The tune was also used for the opening theme. The lyrics state that "All God's Children Got Rhythm" even if they "maybe haven't got money, maybe haven't got shoes". The authors (European immigrants from Poland, Germany, and Austria) were likely influenced by a traditional Negro spiritual "All God's Chillun Got Wings" (alternatively called "All God's Children Got Shoes"), which affirms that all God's children have shoes. This was the inspiration for a 1924 Eugene O'Neill play of the same name and was recorded by Paul Robeson, who also appeared in the play.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| In Love In Vain 37% | B♭ major |
| If There Is Someone Lovelier 35% | C major |
| Too Young To Go Steady 34% | F major |
| This Is All I Ask 31% | F major |
| Teach Me Tonight 30% | E♭ major |
| Thou Swell 30% | E♭ major |
| Cotton Tail 29% | B♭ major |
| Sometime Ago 29% | C major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is All God's Chillun Got Rhythm in?
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote All God's Chillun Got Rhythm?
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm was written by Kahn-Kaper (1937).
What is the form of All God's Chillun Got Rhythm?
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is All God's Chillun Got Rhythm played?
The usual groove is Medium-up swing.
What are the chord changes to All God's Chillun Got Rhythm?
The opening bars are Fmaj7 Dm7 | Gm7 C7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.