ENDEIT

Standards · 1915

I Ain't Got Nobody chords & key

Graham-Williams · Lyrics: Roger A. Graham

Key
G major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Slow swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1915

“I Ain't Got Nobody” is a jazz standard by Graham-Williams from 1915. Most bands play it in G major, slow swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 12 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — G major

A
G7
G7F♯7F7E7
A7
A7
G/DEm
Am7D7
G6Em7
Am7D7
A
G7
G7F♯7F7E7
A7
A7
A7
A7
D7
D7
B
G7
G7
C6
C6
E7
E7
A7
D7
A
G7
G7F♯7F7E7
A7
A7
G/DEm
Am7D7
G6
Am7D7

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

Harmonic analysis

2Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
4ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
9Dominant chains
12Different chords

Most used chords

  • A7×9
  • G7×8
  • D7×7
  • E7×5
  • Am7×4
  • F♯7×3

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

History

"I Ain't Got Nobody" (sometimes referred to as "I'm So Sad and Lonely" or "I Ain't Got Nobody Much") is a popular song and copyrighted in 1915. It was first recorded by Marion Harris, and became a perennial standard, recorded many times over the following generations, in styles ranging from pop to jazz to country music.

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

Recorded on these albums

1956 Asmussen Moods
Svend Asmussen
1956 Out of the Roaring Twenties With Meade Lux Lewis
Meade Lux Lewis
1958 "Les Classiques Du Jazz", Vol. 2
Lafitte, Persiany
1959 The Magic Ukulele of Roy Smeck
Roy Smeck
1961 Rosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle!
Rosemary Clooney · “I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me)”
1962 Lovely & Alive
Lena Horne · “I an't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me)”
1962 When There Are Grey Skies
Red Garland · “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
1962 Takes To The Hills
Mose Allison · “I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me)”
1965 The Real Earl Hines - Recorded Live! In Concert
Earl Hines
1966 V-8 Ford Blues
Mose Allison
1969 The Golden Hits Of Louis Prima
Louis Prima · “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
1969 Three Generation Jam
Bill Coleman
1969 The Henry "Red" Allen Memorial Album
Henry “Red” Allen
1972 Ruby Braff and His International Jazz Quartet Plus Three
Ruby Braff
1973 The Songs of Bessie Smith
Count Basie / Teresa Brewer · “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
1976 Bugle Call Rag
Ruby Braff
1977 Fats Waller's Heavenly Jive
Dick Hyman & Ruby Braff
1984 America the Beautiful
Ruby Braff · Dick Hyman · “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
1994 Whistling in the Wind
Leon Redbone · “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
2001 Portrait
Coleman Hawkins · “I Ain’t Got Nobody (New York, March 8, 1934)”
2002 I Grandi Del Jazz - Benny Goodman - Verve Jazz Masters 33
Benny Goodman
2003 An Evening With Earl Hines
Earl Hines
2003 What Is There To Say ?
Dick Hyman & Ray Kennedy
2003 Bud Freeman with The Alex Welsh Band
Bud Freeman with The Alex Welsh Band

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • I AIN'T GOT NOBODY KAI EWANS and his swinging 16 · Raquel Rastenni · Graham & Williams… archive.org ↗
  • I Ain't Got Nobody "Fats" Waller · Graham · Williams · 1937 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Dig 36% Miles Davis A♭ major AA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Sweet Georgia Brown 36% Pinkard-Casey-Bernie A♭ major AA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Mack The Knife 28% Weill-Brecht B♭ major A · 16 Medium swing
Blue And Sentimental 26% Livingstone-David-Basie E♭ major ABC · 18 Ballad
I Don't Want To Miss Mississippi 25% Serger Ellis G major AAB · 48 Medium swing
Mimi 23% Richard Rogers G major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Heart And Soul 22% Hoagy Carmichael F major AABA · 34 Medium swing
This Is All I Ask 22% Gordon Jenkins F major ABAC · 32 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is I Ain't Got Nobody in?

I Ain't Got Nobody is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.

Who wrote I Ain't Got Nobody?

I Ain't Got Nobody was written by Graham-Williams (1915).

What is the form of I Ain't Got Nobody?

I Ain't Got Nobody has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is I Ain't Got Nobody played?

The usual groove is Slow swing.

What are the chord changes to I Ain't Got Nobody?

The opening bars are G7 | G7 F#7 F7 E7 | A7 | A7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.