Standards

Give Me The Simple Life chords & key

Key
E♭ major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4

“Give Me The Simple Life” is a jazz standard by Rube Bloom. It is usually played in E♭ major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 16 different chords and moves between the key centres C minor, E♭ major and F minor. In this atlas it appears on 22 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
Fm7B♭7
Gm7C7
Dm7♭5G7♭13
Cm7Cm7/B♭
Am7♭5A♭m6
E♭6/GG♭dim7
1.
Fm7C7
F7C7
2.
Fm7B♭7
E♭6Cm7
B
Fm7B♭7
Gm7C7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7
Dm7♭5G7♭9
Cm7
F7
B♭7
A
Fm7B♭7
Gm7C7
Dm7♭5G7♭13
Cm7Cm7/B♭
Am7♭5A♭m6
E♭6/GG♭dim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6C7

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I
5Minor ii–V–i
16ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
2Dominant chains
16Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fm7×8
  • B♭7×8
  • C7×7
  • Cm7×5
  • Gm7×4
  • Dm7♭5×4

Key centres reached by ii–V

C minor, E♭ major and F minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

Recorded on these albums

1955 Cloud 7
Tony Bennett featuring Chuck Wayne · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1955 Trombone for Two
J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1956 By Special Request
Carmen McRae with Mat Mathews Quintet · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1957 Boy With Lots of... BRASS
Maynard Ferguson · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1957 Gone for the Day
June Christy · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1957 The Late, Late Show
Dakota Staton
1959 Sings a Song With Mulligan
Annie Ross & The Gerry Mulligan Quartet · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1960 Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie!
Rosemary Clooney · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1960 Julie… at Home
Julie London · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1963 Right Here, Right Now!
Billy Taylor
1963 Hollar!
Etta Jones · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1968 Lady in Cement
Hugo Montenegro · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1970 Tracks
Oscar Peterson · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1982 An Evening With George Shearing & Mel Tormé
George Shearing & Mel Tormé · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1983 Art van Damme and Friends
Art van Damme · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1984 Everything Must Change
Morgana King · “Give Me the Simple Life”
1996 Gone for the Day + Fair and Warmer!
June Christy · “Give Me the Simple Life”
2000 Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie! / Fancy Meeting You Here
Rosemary Clooney · “Give Me the Simple Life”
2000 Blue Seven
Shirley Scott with Oliver Nelson & Joe Newman · “Give Me the Simple Life”
2011 Cabin in the Sky
Karin Krog · “Give Me the Simple Life”
2016 One Night in Indy
Wes Montgomery featuring The Eddie Higgins Trio · “Give Me the Simple Life”
2026 Tomorrow’s Yesterday
Karin Krog

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
If There Is Someone Lovelier 33% Dietz-Schwartz C major ABC · 28 Ballad
In Love In Vain 31% Leo Robin Jerome Kern B♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
I've Never Been In Love Before 29% Frank Loesser B♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Love Is The Sweetest Thing 28% Ray Noble D major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Too Young To Go Steady 28% Jimmy McHugh F major AABA · 32 Ballad
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm 26% Kahn-Kaper F major ABAC · 32 Medium-up swing
Dinah 26% Harry Akst G major BBA · 24 Medium-up swing
In Walked Bud 26% Thelonious Monk A♭ major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Give Me The Simple Life in?

Give Me The Simple Life is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Give Me The Simple Life?

Give Me The Simple Life was written by Rube Bloom.

What is the form of Give Me The Simple Life?

Give Me The Simple Life has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Give Me The Simple Life played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Give Me The Simple Life?

The opening bars are Fm7 Bb7 | Gm7 C7 | Dm7b5 G7b13 | Cm7 Cm7/Bb. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.