Standards

One For My Baby chords & key

Key
E♭ major
Form
ABC
Bars
47
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4

“One For My Baby” is a jazz standard by Harold Arlen. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 47-bar ABC form has 3 sections. Harmonically it contains 4 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 37 different chords and moves between the key centres G major, A♭ major, G minor and C major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7Fm7/B♭
E♭maj7B♭m7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭maj7D♭7
E♭maj7Fm7
Gm7C7♯9
G7♯5C7♯9
Fm7Gm7A♭A♭/B♭
E♭6
Am7♭5D7♭9
B
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Am7/D
Gmaj7Dm7
Dm7G7
Cmaj7
Cmaj7F7
Gmaj7Am7
Bm7E7♯9
B7♯5E7♯9
Am7Bm7CC/D
1.
G6
Dm7G7
C
×2
Gm7C7
Gm7C7
B7E7A7C/D
G6G7
Gm7C7
Gm7C7
A7E♭7
D7♯5
1.
B7E7♭9
Am7
D7
G6G7/B
C7D♭dim7
Am7D7
G6

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

Harmonic analysis

4Major ii–V–I
1Minor ii–V–i
12ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
6Dominant chains
37Different chords

Most used chords

  • E♭maj7×8
  • Gmaj7×8
  • Fm7/B♭×6
  • Gm7×6
  • Am7/D×6
  • C7×5

Key centres reached by ii–V

G major, A♭ major, G minor and C major

Recorded on these albums

1949 Frankly Sentimental
Frank Sinatra · “One for My Baby”
1955 So Smooth
Perry Como · “One For My Baby And One More For The Road”
1955 Command Performance
Frankie Laine · “One for My Baby (And One for the Road)”
1955 The Songs of Bobby Troup
Bobby Troup · “One for My Baby”
1955 Bobby Troup Sings Johnny Mercer
Bobby Troup
1956 Buddy Rich Sings Johnny Mercer
Buddy Rich
1956 One for My Baby
Frankie Laine · “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”
1957 Melancholy Baby
Della Reese · “One for My Baby”
1957 Gene Norman Presents Mel Torme at the Crescendo
Mel Tormé · “One for My Baby”
1958 Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely
Frank Sinatra, orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle · “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”
1958 Songs for Distingué Lovers
Billie Holiday · “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”
1959 Your Number Please…
Julie London · “One for My Baby”
1959 Sings Ballads of the Sad Cafe
Chris Connor · “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”
1960 Let No Man Write My Epitaph
Ella Fitzgerald · “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”
1961 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald · “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”
1961 The Second Time Around
Etta James · “One for My Baby”
1961 So Much Guitar!
Wes Montgomery · “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”
1962 At Carnegie Hall Recorded Live June 9, 1962
Tony Bennett with Ralph Sharon and His Orchestra · “One for My Baby”
1962 At Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert
Tony Bennett · “One for My Baby”
1962 Blues Make Me Happy
Cab Calloway · “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”
1966 Basie Swingin' Voices Singin'
Count Basie With The Alan Copeland Singers · “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)”
1967 That’s All!
Sammy Davis Jr.
1967 Something Old, New And Blue
Joe Williams · “One for My Baby”
1968 You're Good for Me
Lou Rawls · “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • ONE FOR MY BABY MEL TORMÉ · Ray Linn and his Orchestra · Mercer · Arlen · 1947 archive.org ↗

Frequently asked questions

What key is One For My Baby in?

One For My Baby is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote One For My Baby?

One For My Baby was written by Harold Arlen.

What is the form of One For My Baby?

One For My Baby has 3 sections (ABC) with 47 bars in total.

How fast is One For My Baby played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to One For My Baby?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 Fm7/Bb | Ebmaj7 Fm7/Bb | Ebmaj7 Fm7/Bb | Ebmaj7 Fm7/Bb. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.