Standards · 1932
The Song Is You chords & key
- Key
- C major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 64
- Groove
- Up-tempo swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1932
“The Song Is You” is a jazz standard by Jerome Kern from 1932. It is usually played in C major as a up-tempo swing, and the 64-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 7 major ii–V–I cadences and 6 minor ii–V–i, uses 21 different chords and moves between the key centres C major, D minor, E minor, E major, G♯ minor and F major. In this atlas it appears on 4 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
- Dm7×10
- G7×10
- A7×7
- Cmaj7×5
- Em7×4
- C6×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
C major, D minor, E minor, E major, G♯ minor and F major
Characteristics
- AABA song form
History
"The Song Is You" is a jazz standard composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was written for their musical Music in the Air (1932) and sung in that show by Tullio Carminati. In the subsequent 1934 film, the song was recorded and filmed but cut from the final release. An instrumental of the song can still be heard under the opening credits. An early hit in 1932 was by Jack Denny and his Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra (vocal by Paul Small). In later years the song became often associated with Frank Sinatra, becoming the last song he performed with Tommy Dorsey. Many other artists have recorded the song over the years, including Charlie Parker. "The Song Is You" is the recurring musical theme of the 2003 Guy Maddin film The Saddest Music in the World. Nine different versions of the song were arranged for the film by composer Christopher Dedrick, whose work received a Genie Award.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- The Song Is You The Stan Getz Quintet · Stan Getz · Jimmy Rainey · Horace Silver ·… · 1951 archive.org ↗
- THE SONG IS YOU JOE HOLIDAY QUARTET · Hammerstein · Kern · 1951 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Dexterity 33% | B♭ major |
| I'm Through With Love 32% | F major |
| The Joker 32% | E♭ major |
| Fine And Dandy 29% | F major |
| Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 26% | E♭ major |
| So Many Stars 26% | F major |
| Anthropology 23% | B♭ major |
| Moose The Mooche 23% | B♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is The Song Is You in?
The Song Is You is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote The Song Is You?
The Song Is You was written by Jerome Kern (1932).
What is the form of The Song Is You?
The Song Is You has 4 sections (AABA) with 64 bars in total.
How fast is The Song Is You played?
The usual groove is Up-tempo swing.
What are the chord changes to The Song Is You?
The opening bars are Cmaj7 | Ebdim7 | Dm7 | G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.