Standards

Save Your Love For Me chords & key

Key
D major
Form
AABA
Bars
37
Groove
Slow swing
Time signature
4/4

“Save Your Love For Me” is a jazz standard by Buddy Johnson. Most bands play it in D major, slow swing; the tune runs 37 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 20 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — D major

In
D6Am7
D6B7♯5♯9
A
Em7D/F♯
Gmaj7A7sus
Gm7G7sus
A♯maj7D♯7♯11
Em7
Em7A13♭9
DAm7
D6B7♯5♯9
A
Em7
Em7
Gm7
C7♯11
Em7
Em7A13♭9
D6A7♯5♯9
D6
B
Fm7A♯7
Fm7A♯7
D6Em7
F♯m7Em7D6
A♯7
A♯7
Dmaj7F7
Em7D♯7♯11
A
Em7
Em7
Gm7
C7♯11
Em7
Em7
C7♯11
B7♯5♯9
Em7
Gm7C7♯11
Em7A7♯5♯9
D6Am7
D6Am7

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
8ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
20Different chords

Most used chords

  • Em7×16
  • D6×9
  • Am7×4
  • Gm7×4
  • C7♯11×4
  • A♯7×4

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

Recorded on these albums

1962 Nancy Wilson / Cannonball Adderley
Nancy Wilson / Cannonball Adderley
1964 True Blue
Hank Crawford · “Save Your Love for Me”
1970 In Person
Cannonball Adderley feat. Nancy Wilson & Lou Rawls · “Save Your Love for Me”
1978 Concrete Jungle
David “Fathead” Newman · “Save Your Love for Me”
1980 Side by Side
Richie Cole With Phil Woods · “Save Your Love for Me”
1981 Save Your Love for Me
Etta Jones · “Save Your Love for Me”
1988 Save Your Love For Me
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
1992 Frame for the Blues
Rhoda Scott · “Save Your Love for Me”
1992 Darling Please Save Your Love for Me
Dakota Staton · “Save Your Love for Me”
1993 Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah
James Booker · “Save Your Love for Me”
1994 Tenderness
Al Jarreau · “Save Your Love for Me”
1994 Smile Love and Spice
Viktoria Tolstoy · “Save Your Love for Me”
1997 Blues for Schuur
Diane Schuur · “Save Your Love for Me”
1998 My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson
Etta Jones · “Save Your Love for Me”
2000 Never Never Land
Jane Monheit · “Save Your Love for Me”
2002 Never Never Land
Jane Monheit · “Save Your Love for Me”
2006 Feeling Good
Randy Crawford & Joe Sample · “Save Your Love for Me”
2006 Around the City
Eliane Elias · “Save Your Love for Me”
2008 Speak Low
Boz Scaggs · “Save Your Love for Me”
2008 Cannon Re-Loaded
Tom Scott · “Save Your Love for Me”
2014 Come Back to Me Love
Freda Payne · “Save Your Love for Me”
2020 On Vacation
Till Brönner & Bob James · “Save Your Love for Me”
2024 Late Night Cannonball Adderley
Cannonball Adderley
— Jazz Me Blues
Dakota Staton · “Save Your Love for Me”

Frequently asked questions

What key is Save Your Love For Me in?

Save Your Love For Me is usually played in D major. For B♭ instruments that is E major, for E♭ instruments B major.

Who wrote Save Your Love For Me?

Save Your Love For Me was written by Buddy Johnson.

What is the form of Save Your Love For Me?

Save Your Love For Me has 4 sections (AABA) with 37 bars in total.

How fast is Save Your Love For Me played?

The usual groove is Slow swing.

What are the chord changes to Save Your Love For Me?

The opening bars are D6 Am7 | D6 B7#5#9. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.