Standards · 1930

Embraceable You chords & key

George Gershwin · Lyrics: Ira Gershwin

Key: G major
Form: ABAC
Bars: 32
Groove: Ballad
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1930

“Embraceable You” is a jazz standard by George Gershwin from 1930. Most bands play it in G major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in ABAC form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 22 different chords and moves between the key centres E minor, B minor, D major, G major, C major and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 15 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — G major

G^maj7

A♯^dim7

A^m7

D⁷

A^m7

C^m6

G^maj7

F♯^m7♭5B^7♭9

E^mE^m_/D

C♯^m7♭5F♯^7♯5

B^m7

E^m7A⁷

D^maj7B^m7

E^m7A⁷

A^m7

D⁷

G^maj7

A♯^dim7

A^m7

D⁷

A^m7

C^m6

G^maj7

D^m7G⁷

C^maj7

F♯^m7♭5B^7♭9

E^m7E^m7_/D

C♯^m7♭5C^m6

B^m7E⁷

A^m7♭5D^7♭9

G^maj7

A^m7D⁷

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I

4Minor ii–V–i

12ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

0Dominant chains

22Different chords

Most used chords

A^m7×6
G^maj7×5
D⁷×4
C^m6×3
B^m7×3
E^m7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E minor, B minor, D major, G major, C major and G minor

Characteristics

ABAC song form

History

"Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East Is West. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway musical Girl Crazy, performed by Ginger Rogers in a song and dance routine choreographed by Fred Astaire. Billie Holiday's 1944 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005. In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1947	Songs by Sinatra Frank Sinatra
1949	Sings Songs by George Gershwin Bing Crosby
1957	Body and Soul Billie Holiday
1959	Come Back to Sorrento Frank Sinatra
1959	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book Ella Fitzgerald
1959	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book, Vol. 2 Ella Fitzgerald
1960	Nice ’n’ Easy Frank Sinatra
1975	Fascinating Rhythm (Music Of The Thirties, Album 2) Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli
1978	The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook Ella Fitzgerald
1981	Barbara Hendricks Sings Gershwin Gershwin; Barbara Hendricks, Katia & Marielle Labèque
1983	Nice Work If You Can Get It Ella Fitzgerald & André Previn · “I’ve Got a Crush on You / Someone to Watch Over Me / Embraceable You”
1999	Puttin’ On the Ritz Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
2002	It’s Easy to Remember Bing Crosby
2012	I Get a Kick out of You Frank Sinatra
—	Fascinatin' Rhythm Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelly

Transcribed solos on Embraceable You

Charlie Parker alto saxophone

72 BPM

F-maj

1947-10-28

Historic 78 rpm recordings

EMBRACEABLE YOU (C) NEELY PLUMB AND HIS ORCHESTRA · Stan Wrightsman · Bob Simmers · Nick… archive.org ↗
EMBRACEABLE YOU DON BYAS QUARTET · Don Byas · John Guarnieri · Sid Catlett · Al Hall… archive.org ↗
EMBRACEABLE YOU DON BYAS QUARTET · Don Byas · John Guarnieri · Sid Catlett · Al Hall… archive.org ↗
EMBRACEABLE YOU THE FOUR STAR RHYTHM SECTION · Stan Wrightsman · George Van Eps ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
Embraceable You Buddy Lucas and his Band of Tomorrow · George & Ira Gershwin · 1952 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life 25%	Cy Coleman	F major	AABAD · 40	Ballad
Jeepers Creepers 24%	Harry Warren	B♭ major	AABA · 34	Medium swing
A Certain Smile 23%	Fain-Webster	F major	ABAC · 32	Medium swing
Dinah 23%	Harry Akst	G major	BBA · 24	Medium-up swing
Rosetta 23%	Earl Hines	F major	AABA · 32	Medium-up swing
Billy Boy 22%	Traditional	C major	AABA · 56	Medium-up swing
Everything I Have Is Yours 22%	Burton Lane	C major	ABAC · 32	Ballad
Rockin' Chair 22%	Hoagy Carmichael	E♭ major	ABA · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Embraceable You in?

Embraceable You is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.

Who wrote Embraceable You?

Embraceable You was written by George Gershwin (1930).

What is the form of Embraceable You?

Embraceable You has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Embraceable You played?

The usual groove is Ballad. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 72 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Embraceable You?

The opening bars are Gmaj7 | A#dim7 | Am7 | D7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.