Standards · 1939
I Didn't Know What Time It Was chords & key
- Key
- G major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 36
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1939
“I Didn't Know What Time It Was” is a jazz standard by Richard Rodgers from 1939. It is usually played in G major as a medium swing, and the 36-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences and 8 minor ii–V–i, uses 16 different chords and moves between the key centres E minor, G major and A minor. In this atlas it appears on 6 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — G major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Em7×11
- F♯m7♭5×8
- B7♭9×8
- A7×7
- Am7×7
- D7×6
Key centres reached by ii–V
E minor, G major and A minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
History
"I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 musical Too Many Girls. Introduced by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott in the stage musical, early hit versions were recorded by Benny Goodman (vocal by Louise Tobin) and by Jimmy Dorsey (vocal by Bob Eberly). It was then performed by Trudy Erwin (dubbing for Lucille Ball) and Richard Carlson in the 1940 film adaptation produced by RKO. The song was later interpolated into the score of the 1957 film Pal Joey, sung by Frank Sinatra, and has become a jazz standard. 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
| 1949 | Charlie Parker With Strings Charlie Parker |
| 1956 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “I Didn’t Know What Time it Was” |
| 1958 | Songs for Distingué Lovers Billie Holiday · “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” |
| 1959 | Oscar Peterson Plays the Richard Rodgers Songbook Oscar Peterson |
| 1961 | Tony Bennett Sings for Two Tony Bennett · “I Don’t Know What Time It Was” |
| 1969 | I’m All Yours Baby! Ray Charles · “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” |
Transcribed solos on I Didn't Know What Time It Was
| Bob Berg tenor saxophone | 127 BPM |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA · Richard Rodgers · Lorenz Hart archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
Frequently asked questions
What key is I Didn't Know What Time It Was in?
I Didn't Know What Time It Was is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.
Who wrote I Didn't Know What Time It Was?
I Didn't Know What Time It Was was written by Richard Rodgers (1939).
What is the form of I Didn't Know What Time It Was?
I Didn't Know What Time It Was has 4 sections (AABA) with 36 bars in total.
How fast is I Didn't Know What Time It Was played?
The usual groove is Medium swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 127 BPM.
What are the chord changes to I Didn't Know What Time It Was?
The opening bars are F#m7b5 B7b9 | Em7 A7 | F#m7b5 B7b9 | Em7 A7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.