Standards · 1939
Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) chords & key
“Over The Rainbow (Somewhere)” is a jazz standard by Harold Arlen from 1939. Most bands play it in E♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 9 major ii–V–I cadences and 7 minor ii–V–i, uses 21 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, F minor, C minor and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 12 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Fm7×15
- B♭7×15
- E♭6×12
- Gm7×11
- Cm7×8
- E♭maj7×5
Key centres reached by ii–V
E♭ major, F minor, C minor and G minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
History
"Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. About five minutes into the film, Dorothy sings the song after failing to get Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farmhands to listen to her story of an unpleasant incident involving her dog, Toto, and the town spinster, Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton). Aunt Em tells her to "find [her]self a place where [she] won't get into any trouble". This prompts her to walk off by herself, musing to Toto, "Someplace where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain", at which point she begins singing.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
| 1947 | Songs by Sinatra Frank Sinatra · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1955 | The Voice Frank Sinatra · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1959 | Oscar Peterson Plays the Harold Arlen Song Book Oscar Peterson · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1960 | Sings a String of Harold Arlen Tony Bennett · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1961 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1963 | Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul Ray Charles · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 1981 | Face Value Phil Collins · “Tomorrow Never Knows” |
| 1987 | One Voice Barbra Streisand · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 2004 | Genius Loves Company Ray Charles · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 2010 | Die Größte Hits von Ray Charles Ray Charles · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 2026 | Somewhere Over The Rainbow Sun Ra · “Over the Rainbow” |
| 2026 | Night Blooms Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra · “Over the Rainbow” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Over the Rainbow Poul Olsens kvintet archive.org ↗
- Over The Rainbow The Hank D'Amico Quartet · E. Y. Harburg · H. Arlen · Hank D'Amico ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
- Over the Rainbow Errol Garner · Harborg · Arlen · 1949 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
Frequently asked questions
What key is Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) in?
Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.
Who wrote Over The Rainbow (Somewhere)?
Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) was written by Harold Arlen (1939).
What is the form of Over The Rainbow (Somewhere)?
Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to Over The Rainbow (Somewhere)?
The opening bars are Eb6 Cm7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 Cm7 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.