Standards
They Didn't Believe Me chords & key
- Key
- G major
- Form
- AB
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“They Didn't Believe Me” is a jazz standard by Jerome Kern. It is usually played in G major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar AB form has 2 sections. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 10 different chords and moves between the key centres G major, A minor and B minor. In this atlas it appears on 2 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — G major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Am7×8
- D7×7
- Gmaj7×5
- Bm7×5
- E7×4
- Em7×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
G major, A minor and B minor
History
"They Didn't Believe Me" is a song with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Herbert Reynolds. First introduced in the 1914 musical The Girl from Utah it was one of five numbers added to the show by Kern and Reynolds for its Broadway debut at the Knickerbocker Theatre on August 14, 1914. The show had originated in Britain, but impresario Charles Frohman had felt it needed additional material to enliven its U.S. run. It became Kern's first major song success. The song, with four beats to a bar, departed from the customary waltz-rhythms of European influence and fitted the new American passion for modern dances such as the fox-trot. Kern was also able to use elements of American styles, such as ragtime, as well as syncopation, in his lively dance tunes. The song is also remarkable in its use of 'everyday' language in a love song.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- They Didn't Believe Me Casper Reardon and His Orchestra · Loulie Jean · Reynolds · Kern · 1940 archive.org ↗
- THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME CASPER REARDON AND HIS ORCHESTRA · LOULIE JEAN · Reynolds · Kern · 1940 archive.org ↗
- They Didn't Believe Me George Auld and his Orchestra · J. Mulligan · Kern · Reynolds · G… · 1949 archive.org ↗
- THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME GEORGIE AULD and his Orchestra · G. AULD · H. TERRY · J. ROTELLA ·… · 1949 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| I'm An Old Cowhand 38% | E♭ major |
| Without A Song 37% | E♭ major |
| Blackberry Winter 32% | F major |
| Too Young To Go Steady 30% | F major |
| How Are Things In Glocca Morra 29% | F major |
| In Love In Vain 29% | B♭ major |
| All God's Chillun Got Rhythm 28% | F major |
| I Could Write A Book 28% | C major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is They Didn't Believe Me in?
They Didn't Believe Me is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.
Who wrote They Didn't Believe Me?
They Didn't Believe Me was written by Jerome Kern.
What is the form of They Didn't Believe Me?
They Didn't Believe Me has 2 sections (AB) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is They Didn't Believe Me played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to They Didn't Believe Me?
The opening bars are Am7 | D7 | Gmaj7 | Bm7 E7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.