Standards

The Folks Who Live On The Hill chords & key

Key
C major
Form
AABA
Bars
44
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4

“The Folks Who Live On The Hill” is a jazz standard by Jerome Kern. Most bands play it in C major, ballad; the tune runs 44 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences and 7 minor ii–V–i, uses 23 different chords and moves between the key centres D minor, C major and E minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

A
Cmaj7D♭dim7
Dm7G7
Em7E♭dim7
Dm7Am7/C
G7/BAm7
Dm7G7
E7A7
Dm7G7
Em7A7
Dm7G7
1.
C6Am7
Dm7G7
2.
C6
G♭m7♭5B7♭9
B
Em7
G♭m7♭5B7♭9
EmEmmaj7/E♭
Em7/DA7/D♭D7
G6G7/F
Em7A7Dm7G7
A
Cmaj7D♭dim7
Dm7G7
Em7E♭dim7
Dm7Am7/C
G7/BAm7
Dm7G7
E7A7
Dm7G7
Em7A7
Dm7G7
Em7♭5A7♭9
Dm7G7
C6Am7
Dm7G7

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

Harmonic analysis

5Major ii–V–I
7Minor ii–V–i
24ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
4Dominant chains
23Different chords

Most used chords

  • Dm7×19
  • G7×16
  • Em7×8
  • A7×7
  • Am7×5
  • Cmaj7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

D minor, C major and E minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

Recorded on these albums

1957 The Man I Love
Peggy Lee · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1960 Johnny’s Mood
Johnny Mathis · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1960 That's Right! Nat Adderley and the Big Sax Section
Nat Adderley · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1961 ’Round Midnight
Dakota Staton · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1966 Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays
Sammy Davis, Jr. and Laurindo Almeida · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1967 Soon It's Gonna Rain
Blossom Dearie · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1968 The Sound of Silence
Carmen McRae · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1968 Heads Up!
Blue Mitchell · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1972 Natural Illusions
Bobby Hutcherson · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1973 Some of My Favorite Things
Acker Bilk · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1974 Sarah Vaughan & The Jimmy Rowles Quintet
Sarah Vaughan & The Jimmy Rowles Quintet · “Folks Who Live On the Hill”
1978 The Reunion
George Shearing Trio And Stephane Grappelli
1978 Town and Country
Marian Montgomery and Richard Rodney Bennett · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1980 Plays the Music of Jerome Kern
Al Haig · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1981 Live at Bubba’s
Ahmad Jamal · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1986 Solo Flight
Bucky Pizzarelli · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1988 The Sound of Jazz - Ahmad Jamal In Concert
Ahmad Jamal · “Folks Who Live On The Hill”
1988 A Vintage Year
George Shearing & Mel Tormé · “Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1988 A Vintage Year
Mel Tormé & George Shearing · “Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1988 Helen Merrill sings Jerome Kern
Helen Merrill sings Jerome Kern · “The Folks who live on the Hill”
1990 Astoria: Portrait of the Artist
Tony Bennett · “The Folks That Live on the Hill”
1990 I Never Went Away ...
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1991 Softly / ’Round Midnight
Dakota Staton · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”
1992 Mel Tormé and Friends: Recorded Live at Marty’s, New York City
Mel Tormé · “The Folks Who Live on the Hill”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Too Young To Go Steady 34% Jimmy McHugh F major AABA · 32 Ballad
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm 33% Irving Berlin E♭ major AABA · 56 Medium swing
Teach Me Tonight 33% Gene DePaul E♭ major AABA · 32 Slow swing
A Ghost Of A Chance 28% Victor Young C major AB · 32 Ballad
Over The Rainbow (Somewhere) 28% Harold Arlen E♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad
In Love In Vain 27% Leo Robin Jerome Kern B♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
All God's Chillun Got Rhythm 26% Kahn-Kaper F major ABAC · 32 Medium-up swing
Come Back To Me 26% Alan Lerner, Burton Lane F major AABA · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is The Folks Who Live On The Hill in?

The Folks Who Live On The Hill is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote The Folks Who Live On The Hill?

The Folks Who Live On The Hill was written by Jerome Kern.

What is the form of The Folks Who Live On The Hill?

The Folks Who Live On The Hill has 4 sections (AABA) with 44 bars in total.

How fast is The Folks Who Live On The Hill played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to The Folks Who Live On The Hill?

The opening bars are Cmaj7 Dbdim7 | Dm7 G7 | Em7 Ebdim7 | Dm7 Am7/C. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.