Standards
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium-up swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea” is a jazz standard by Harold Arlen. Most bands play it in F major, medium-up swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 10 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 17 different chords and moves between the key centres F major, B♭ major and A major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.
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
- C7×12
- Gm7×9
- Fmaj7×6
- Cm7×3
- F7×3
- B♭maj7×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
F major, B♭ major and A major
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1950 | Piano Moods Teddy Wilson · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1952 | Modern Jazz Quartet Modern Jazz Quartet · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1955 | Sweet and Hot Ella Fitzgerald · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1955 | Mr. Wilson: The Fabulous Teddy Wilson at the Piano Teddy Wilson · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1955 | East Coast Jazz/4 Herbie Mann · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1955 | Swinging With Ruby Braff Ruby Braff · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1956 | In the Land of Hi-Fi Julian Cannonball Adderley · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1956 | Annie by Candlelight Annie Ross · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1956 | Herbie Mann Plays Herbie Mann · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1956 | New York Jazz Sonny Stitt · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1957 | New Tricks... Bing Crosby with Buddy Cole and His Trio |
| 1957 | Sammy Jumps With Joya Sammy Davis Jr., Joya Sherrill · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1957 | After Glow Carmen McRae · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1957 | The Touch of Your Lips Mel Tormé · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1957 | The Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1958 | Saturday Night With Mr. C. Perry Como |
| 1958 | Luckey & the Lion: Harlem Piano Luckey Roberts & Willie “The Lion” Smith · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1958 | Give Him the Ooh-La-La Blossom Dearie · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1959 | Oscar Peterson Plays the Harold Arlen Song Book Oscar Peterson · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1959 | Like Blue André Previn and David Rose · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1959 | Sings a Song With Mulligan Annie Ross & The Gerry Mulligan Quartet · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1960 | Moonglow & Stardust: Backgrounds to Your Favorite Songs for Singing and Playing The Mal Waldron Trio · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
| 1961 | Plays Harold Arlen Cal Tjader · “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA LEE WILEY · THE EDDIE CONDON QUINTETTE · Ernie Caceres · Dave Bowman… archive.org ↗
- BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA DICKY WELLS and his ORCHESTRA · DICKY WELLS · BILL DILLARD · BILL… · 1937 archive.org ↗
- BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA ANN HATHAWAY · ELLIS LARKINS and his ORCHESTRA · Ellis Larkin ·… · 1946 archive.org ↗
- Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Nat Pierce and his orchestra · Kohler · Arlen · Sonny Truitt · 1950 archive.org ↗
- Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Milt Jackson Quartet · Milt Jackson · Ray Brown · John Lewis · Kenny… · 1951 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Let's Cool One 28% | E♭ major |
| All Alone 24% | F major |
| Hey There 23% | E♭ major |
| Dexterity 22% | B♭ major |
| How About You 21% | F major |
| If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 21% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea in?
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea?
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea was written by Harold Arlen.
What is the form of Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea?
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea played?
The usual groove is Medium-up swing.
What are the chord changes to Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea?
The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 | Gm7 C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.