ENDEIT

Standards · 1927

The Lonesome Road chords & key

Austin-Shilkret · Lyrics: Gene Austin

Key
E♭ major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4
Year
1927

“The Lonesome Road” is a jazz standard by Austin-Shilkret from 1927. Most bands play it in E♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 2 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭6
E♭7
A♭m6
A♭m6
E♭
B♭7
1.
E♭Adim7
Fm7B♭7
2.
E♭
E♭
B
Am7♭5
D7♭9
Gm7
Gm7
Am7♭5
D7♭9
Gm7G♭7
Fm7B♭7
A
E♭6
E♭7
A♭m6
A♭m6
E♭
B♭7
E♭
E♭

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

Harmonic analysis

2Major ii–V–I
2Minor ii–V–i
4ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
11Different chords

Most used chords

  • E♭×8
  • A♭m6×6
  • B♭7×5
  • E♭6×3
  • E♭7×3
  • Gm7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major and G minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

History

"The Lonesome Road" is a 1927 song with music by Nathaniel Shilkret and lyrics by Gene Austin, alternately titled "Lonesome Road", "Look Down that Lonesome Road" and "Lonesome Road Blues." It was written in the style of an African American folk song.

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

Recorded on these albums

1940 Star Dust
Bing Crosby
1957 A Swingin’ Affair!
Frank Sinatra · “Lonesome Road”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • LONESOME ROAD LOUIS ARMSTRONG & HIS ORCH. · Louis Armstrong · Austin · Shilkret · 1946 archive.org ↗
  • LONESOME ROAD LOUIS ARMSTRONG & HIS ORCH. · Louis Armstrong · Z. Randolph · P… · 1947 archive.org ↗
  • Lonesome Road The Rockin' and Walkin' Rhythm of Eddie Chamblee · 1953 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
If I Had You 23% Campbell-Connelly-Shapiro B♭ major AABA · 32 Slow swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is The Lonesome Road in?

The Lonesome Road is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote The Lonesome Road?

The Lonesome Road was written by Austin-Shilkret (1927).

What is the form of The Lonesome Road?

The Lonesome Road has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is The Lonesome Road played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to The Lonesome Road?

The opening bars are Eb6 | Eb7 | Abm6 | Abm6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.