Standards · 1949
Some Enchanted Evening chords & key
“Some Enchanted Evening” is a jazz standard by Richard Rodgers from 1949. It is usually played in C major as a ballad, and the 60-bar AABAC form has 5 sections. Harmonically it contains 8 major ii–V–I cadences and 3 minor ii–V–i, uses 20 different chords and moves between the key centres C major, F major and A minor. In this atlas it appears on 18 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — C major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C6×16
- G7×13
- Fmaj7×9
- Dm7×8
- Am7×6
- G7/D×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
C major, F major and A minor
History
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Andrew Lloyd Webber describes it as the "greatest song ever written for a musical". The song is a three-verse solo for the leading male character, Emile, in which he describes first seeing a stranger, knowing that he will see her again, then dreaming of hearing her laughter and finally of feeling her call him. He sings that when you find your "true love", you must "fly to her side, and make her your own, / Or all through your life you may dream all alone." The song has been called "a marvelous distillation of love at first sight [but also] a reflection for mature people who've known it and lived it".
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Recorded on these albums
| 1949 | South Pacific Peggy Lee, Margaret Whiting & Gordon MacRae |
| 1956 | Perry Como Sings Hits From Broadway Shows Perry Como |
| 1958 | Broadway in Rhythm Ray Conniff |
| 1961 | Moon River Lawrence Welk |
| 1963 | Love Shout Etta Jones |
| 1966 | No Other Love Perry Como |
| 1966 | Champagne on Broadway Lawrence Welk |
| 1967 | The World We Knew Frank Sinatra |
| 1979 | Ain’t It So Ray Charles |
| 1990 | Younger Than Swingtime: Music from South Pacific Ruby Braff & Dick Hyman |
| 1993 | Back to Broadway Barbra Streisand |
| 2001 | Dance to South Pacific / The Les Brown Story Les Brown |
| 2006 | Dick Hyman Plays Variations On Richard Rodgers Dick Hyman |
| 2008 | Road Shows, Volume 1 Sonny Rollins |
| 2009 | Your Songs Harry Connick, Jr. |
| 2015 | The Complete Hits 1943-62 Frank Sinatra |
| 2020 | The Star (Remastered) Al Jolson · “Some Enchanted Evening (Remastered)” |
| 2023 | Three of a Kind: Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Annette Hanshaw Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker & Annette Hanshaw · “Some Enchanted Evening (Remastered 2014)” |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| I Like The Likes Of You 32% | E♭ major |
| Mimi 28% | G major |
| Bye Bye Baby 26% | B♭ major |
| Cabaret 26% | E♭ major |
| Isn't It Romantic? 26% | E♭ major |
| Look To The Rainbow 25% | E♭ major |
| Deed I Do 24% | C major |
| Try A Little Tenderness 24% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Some Enchanted Evening in?
Some Enchanted Evening is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote Some Enchanted Evening?
Some Enchanted Evening was written by Richard Rodgers (1949).
What is the form of Some Enchanted Evening?
Some Enchanted Evening has 5 sections (AABAC) with 60 bars in total.
How fast is Some Enchanted Evening played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to Some Enchanted Evening?
The opening bars are C6 | C6 | G7 | G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.