ENDEIT

Standards · 1937

I See Your Face Before Me chords & key

Arthur Schwartz · Lyrics: Howard Dietz

Key
E♭ major
Form
ABAC
Bars
32
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4
Year
1937

“I See Your Face Before Me” is a jazz standard by Arthur Schwartz from 1937. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 18 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, F minor, A♭ major and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7Fm7
Gm7Fm7
E♭maj7C7
Fm7B♭7
FmFmmaj7
Fm7B♭7
Fm7B♭7sus
E♭maj7
B
Gm7C7♭9
Fm7B♭7
Gm7C7♭9
Fm7B♭7
Am7♭5D7♭9
Gm7C7♭9
Fm7
B♭7♯5
A
E♭maj7Fm7
Gm7Fm7
E♭maj7C7
Fm7B♭7
FmFmmaj7
Fm7B♭7
Fm7B♭7sus
E♭maj7B♭m7E♭7
C
A♭maj7B♭7/A♭
E♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7A♭m6
Gm7C7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6
Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

6Major ii–V–I
5Minor ii–V–i
18ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
18Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fm7×15
  • B♭7×8
  • E♭maj7×7
  • Gm7×6
  • C7×3
  • C7♭9×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, F minor, A♭ major and G minor

Characteristics

  • ABAC song form

History

I See Your Face Before Me is a popular song composed by Arthur Schwartz, with lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Adele Dixon in the 1937 Broadway musical Between the Devil. Two recordings of the song made the charts shortly after the show's debut: Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians reached number 12, and Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra made it to number 13. Johnny Hartman's 1980 recording was part of the soundtrack for the 1995 film, The Bridges of Madison County. Hartman's recording accompanies a key scene where the characters Robert and Francesca dance and kiss for the first time. The song was also the first composition that Nelson Riddle wrote an arrangement for, in 1938. Riddle would later arrange "I See Your Face Before Me" for Frank Sinatra's 1955 album, In the Wee Small Hours.

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

Recorded on these albums

1961 Settin’ the Pace
John Coltrane

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • I See Your Face Before Me Bernie Leighton at the Piano with Rhythm Accompaniment · Bernie… · 1946 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe 41% Harold Arlen F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
Sometimes I'm Happy 36% Vincent Youmans F major ABAB · 32 Medium swing
New York, New York 35% John Kander F major AABA · 42 Medium swing
How Are Things In Glocca Morra 34% Burton Lane F major AAB · 30 Ballad
Billy Boy 33% Traditional C major AABA · 56 Medium-up swing
I May Be Wrong 33% Henry Sullivan E♭ major AABC · 32 Medium swing
Ceora 31% Lee Morgan A♭ major ABAC · 32 Bossa nova
One Morning In May 31% Hoagy Carmichael G major AAB · 48 Up-tempo swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is I See Your Face Before Me in?

I See Your Face Before Me is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote I See Your Face Before Me?

I See Your Face Before Me was written by Arthur Schwartz (1937).

What is the form of I See Your Face Before Me?

I See Your Face Before Me has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is I See Your Face Before Me played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to I See Your Face Before Me?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 Fm7 | Gm7 Fm7 | Ebmaj7 C7 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.