ENDEIT

Standards · 1927

Sometimes I'm Happy chords & key

Vincent Youmans

Key
F major
Form
ABAB
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1927

“Sometimes I'm Happy” is a jazz standard by Vincent Youmans from 1927. It is usually played in F major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAB form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 8 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres F major, G minor and B♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — F major

A
F6D7
Gm7C7
Am7D7
Gm7C7
F6D7
Gm7C7
Am7D7
Gm7C7
B
F6
Cm7F7
B♭maj7
E♭7
Fmaj7
Am7D7
Gm7
C7
A
F6D7
Gm7C7
Am7D7
Gm7C7
F6D7
Gm7C7
Am7D7
Gm7C7
B
F6
Cm7F7
B♭maj7
E♭7
F6/CD7
Gm7C7
F6
Gm7C7

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

Harmonic analysis

8Major ii–V–I
5Minor ii–V–i
18ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
11Different chords

Most used chords

  • Gm7×11
  • C7×11
  • D7×10
  • F6×7
  • Am7×5
  • Cm7×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

F major, G minor and B♭ major

Characteristics

  • ABAB form

History

"Sometimes I'm Happy" is a popular song. The music was written by Vincent Youmans, the lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song was originally published in 1923 under the title "Come On And Pet Me" with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and William Cary Duncan.

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

Recorded on these albums

1946 Piano Solos
Errol Garner
1952 Lena Sings Your Requests
Lena Horne Orchestra Conducted By Marty Paich
1952 Piano
Erroll Garner
1953 Swedish American All Stars
Quincy Jones
1955 In the Land of Hi-Fi
Sarah Vaughan · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1955 Bennie Green Blows His Horn
Bennie Green
1955 Ball at Bethlehem With Braff
Ruby Braff
1956 The Benny Goodman Story, Vol. 2
Benny Goodman
1956 In the Land of Hi-Fi
Dinah Washington · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1956 By Special Request
Carmen McRae with Mat Mathews Quintet · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1956 The Jazz Skyline
Milt Jackson
1957 Jazz Abroad
Roy Haynes and Quincy Jones
1957 Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band Jazz
Dizzy Gillespie
1957 At Home with Dorothy and Raymond
Raymond Scott & Dorothy Collins
1957 A Ruby Braff Omnibus
Ruby Braff
1958 A Date With Della Reese at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago
Della Reese With The Kirk Stuart Trio
1959 Last Recording
Billie Holiday with Ray Ellis and His Orchestra · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1960 Like in Love
Nancy Wilson · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1960 Pete Fountain Salutes the Great Clarinetists
Pete Fountain
1961 Bennie Green
Bennie Green
1962 At Carnegie Hall Recorded Live June 9, 1962
Tony Bennett with Ralph Sharon and His Orchestra · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1962 At Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert
Tony Bennett · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1962 I Wanna Be Loved
Dinah Washington · “Sometimes I’m Happy”
1963 Sassy Swings the Tivoli
Sarah Vaughan · “Sometimes I’m Happy”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY The Raymond Scott Quintet · Dorothy Collins · Vincent Youmans · R. S. archive.org ↗
  • Sometimes I'm Happy Lester Young Quartet · Lester Young · John Guarnieri · Sidney… · 1943 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Tadd's Delight 48% Tadd Dameron A♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium-up swing
Dancing On The Ceiling 43% Richard Rodgers F major AABA · 32 Ballad
Donna Lee 43% Charlie Parker A♭ major AB · 32 Up-tempo swing
I May Be Wrong 41% Henry Sullivan E♭ major AABC · 32 Medium swing
The Joker 41% Lee Morgan E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
New York, New York 40% John Kander F major AABA · 42 Medium swing
Ceora 38% Lee Morgan A♭ major ABAC · 32 Bossa nova
If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 38% Jurgens-Howard E♭ major AB · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Sometimes I'm Happy in?

Sometimes I'm Happy is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.

Who wrote Sometimes I'm Happy?

Sometimes I'm Happy was written by Vincent Youmans (1927).

What is the form of Sometimes I'm Happy?

Sometimes I'm Happy has 4 sections (ABAB) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Sometimes I'm Happy played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Sometimes I'm Happy?

The opening bars are F6 D7 | Gm7 C7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.