Standards · 1930

Three Little Words chords & key

Harry Ruby · Lyrics: Bert Kalmar

Key: C major
Form: AABA
Bars: 32
Groove: Medium-up swing
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1930

“Three Little Words” is a jazz standard by Harry Ruby from 1930. Most bands play it in C major, medium-up swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres C major and F major. In this atlas it appears on 5 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

×2

C^maj7

E♭^m7A♭⁷

D^m7

G⁷

D^m7

G⁷

G^m7

C⁷

G^m7

C⁷

F^maj7

B♭⁷A⁷

A♭⁷G⁷

C^maj7

E♭^m7A♭⁷

D^m7

G⁷

C⁶

D^m7G⁷

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

11ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

0Dominant chains

11Different chords

Most used chords

C^maj7×9
G⁷×7
D^m7×6
A♭⁷×4
E♭^m7×3
G^m7×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

C major and F major

Characteristics

AABA song form

History

"Three Little Words" is a popular song with music by Harry Ruby and lyrics by Bert Kalmar, published in 1930. The Rhythm Boys (including Bing Crosby), accompanied by the Duke Ellington orchestra, recorded it on August 26, 1930 and it enjoyed great success. Their version was used in the 1930 Amos 'n' Andy film Check and Double Check, with orchestra members miming to it. The film was co-written by Kalmar and Ruby along with J. Walter Ruben. The song also figured prominently in the film Three Little Words, a 1950 biopic about Kalmar and Ruby.

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

Recorded on these albums

1949	King Cole at the Piano King Cole
1964	L-O-V-E Nat King Cole
2000	Don't Fence Me In Bing Crosby
2002	It’s Easy to Remember Bing Crosby
—	Bing Crosby Bing Crosby

Transcribed solos on Three Little Words

Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone

264 BPM

C-maj

03.-04.01.1988

Historic 78 rpm recordings

THREE LITTLE WORDS COLEMAN HAWKINS and his SAX ENSEMBLE · Coleman Hawkins · Don Byas ·… · 1944 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 35%	Jurgens-Howard	E♭ major	AB · 32	Medium swing
We See 31%	Thelonious Monk	B♭ major	AABA · 32	Medium-up swing
Everything I Have Is Yours 28%	Burton Lane	C major	ABAC · 32	Ballad
For You, For Me, For Evermore 26%	George Gershwin	E♭ major	AB · 32	Slow swing
It's De-lovely 25%	Cole Porter	F major	ABA · 36	Medium swing
It's Only a Paper Moon 24%	Harold Arlen	G major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
Just One More Chance 24%	Johnston-Coslow	G major	AB · 32	Medium swing
A Weaver Of Dreams 23%	Victor Young	C major	ABAC · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Three Little Words in?

Three Little Words is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote Three Little Words?

Three Little Words was written by Harry Ruby (1930).

What is the form of Three Little Words?

Three Little Words has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Three Little Words played?

The usual groove is Medium-up swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 264 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Three Little Words?

The opening bars are Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Ebm7 Ab7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.