Standards
Tonight I Shall Sleep chords & key
“Tonight I Shall Sleep” is a jazz standard by Ellington-Mercer. It is usually played in D♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 22 different chords and moves between the key centres D♭ major and B♭ minor. In this atlas it appears on 8 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — D♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- B♭m7×6
- E♭7×6
- A♭7×6
- D♭maj7×4
- Fm7♭5×4
- B♭7♭9×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
D♭ major and B♭ minor
Characteristics
- ABAC song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1979 | Unknown Session Duke Ellington |
| 1980 | Duke Ellington Song Book, Volume 2 Sarah Vaughan · “Tonight I Shall Sleep With a Smile on My Face” |
| 1990 | A Celebration of Duke Sarah Vaughan, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Milt Jackson, Ray Brown & Mickey Roker |
| 1990 | I’ll Be Seeing You: The Sarah Vaughan Memorial Album Sarah Vaughan |
| 1993 | Jazz Tribune No.69: Indispensable Duke Ellington · “Tonight I Shall Sleep (with a Smile on My Face)” |
| 1994 | On The Korner Zoot Sims |
| 2005 | In A Mellow Tone John Dankworth |
| 2006 | Sarah Vaughan Sings for Lovers Sarah Vaughan · “Tonight I Shall Sleep (With a Smile on My Face)” |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Tonight I Shall Sleep in?
Tonight I Shall Sleep is usually played in D♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is E♭ major, for E♭ instruments B♭ major.
Who wrote Tonight I Shall Sleep?
Tonight I Shall Sleep was written by Ellington-Mercer.
What is the form of Tonight I Shall Sleep?
Tonight I Shall Sleep has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Tonight I Shall Sleep played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to Tonight I Shall Sleep?
The opening bars are Dbmaj7 | Cm7b5 F7b9 | Bbm7 Bbm7/Ab | Gm7b5 Gb7#11. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.