Chords | A Night In Tunisia
Intro
||: Eb7 | Dm6 :||: Eb7 | Dm6/9 :||
A
||: Eb7 | Dm6/9 :|| Em7b5 A7 | Dm7 Dm6/9 :||
B
| Am7b5 | D7b9 | Gm Gmmaj7 | Gm7 C9 |
| Gm7b5 | C7b9 | F6 | Em7b5 A7#5 |
C
| Em7b5 | Em7b5 | Eb9b5 | Eb9b5 |
| Dm7 | Dm7 | G9 | G9 Gm69 |
| F#min7b5 | Fmaj7 | F#7#9 | F#7#9 Fmaj7 |
| N.C | N.C | Em7b5 | A7#5 |
And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia) | Lyrics
In 1981, Chaka Khan wrote lyrics for this classic. Now the song is called And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia). Here are the lyrics:
A long time ago in the 40s,
Dizzy and Bird gave us this song.
They called it a night in Tunisia,
and the melody still lingers on.
It was new and very strange,
blew the squares right off the stage.
Few could play along,
But the melody still lingers on.
Max and Miles to name just two,
together they grew.
The music was young and strong,
and the melody still lingers on.
They paved the way for generations,
from Coltrane to Stevie.
No one could stop the winds of change,
without them, where’d we be?
The Duke and the Prez were there before,
the past you can’t ignore.
The torch is lit, we’ll keep the flame,
and the melody remains the same.
||: Ba-da-da-da :||
Solo
The Duke and the Prez were there before,
the past you can’t ignore.
The torch is lit, we’ll keep the flame,
and the melody remains the same
||: Ba-da. ba-da-da-da :||
||: Ba-da-da-da :||
Solo
A long time ago in the 40s,
Dizzy and Bird gave us this song.
They called it a night in Tunisia,
and the melody still lingers on.
||: In the 40s, a night in Tunisia :II
A Night in Tunisia—with lyrics?!
When musicians say, “Let’s play A Night in Tunisia“, they’re referring to the instrumental version by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker from 1944, or my favourite, the 1946 version of Dizzy and his sextet —not Chaka Khan’s vocal adaptation.
Still, you do want to learn the melody in order to improvise over this legendary jazz standard, so perhaps having the lyrics helps, I’m not sure, but I put them in here anyway.
But let’s not get carried away, to ensures you can hold your own in a live setting, start by leaving the melody and solos to the trumpet and sax players and focus first on the chords, the next step is the melody.
Once you’ve got the melody down, then start considering a solo!
With all that in mind, let’s analyse the chords we find in A Night In Tunisia.
A Night In Tunisia Chords: Understanding the Progressions and Substitutions
The opening Eb7 is a tritone substitution. Instead of playing A7 – Dm7 (IIIx – VI), we use Eb7, hitting an altered note from the now-imagined A7(b5). The Dm is also not a Dm7, it’s a Dm6/9.
The next progression, Em7b5 – A7 – Dm7 is a VII – IIIx – VI, also known as a minor II – V – I.
B-section
In the B-section, we shift keys and encounter several minor II – V – I progressions:
- Am7b5 – D7b9 – Gm (II – V – I in Gm)
- Gm7b5 – C7b9 – F6/9 (II – V – I in F, not minor!)
- Em7b5 – A7 (II – V in Dm)
Personally, I prefer calling these progressions VII – IIIx – VI, but I acknowledge that “minor II – V – I” is the universally accepted term.
C-section
During the C section, a new chord appears, often labelled dom9#11. To me, it kind of made more sense to call it dom9b5—essentially an altered chord, though technically, the 9 would need to be either b9 or #9…
But let’s start from the top, the progression begins with Em7b5, before moving to that Eb9#11. This creates a sense of motion and prepares us for the Dm7 resolution.
Next up we have a G9, which also moves to a Gm6/9 briefly before an F#m7b5, which breifly becomes an Fmaj7 – the same chord just lowering the root!
The final chord before the stop is an F#7#9 before we stop on an Fmaj7. Th estop that follow is usually two bars but on my favourite recording, it’s four bars.
The sequence concludes with the Em7b5 – A7, a classic minor II – V, resolving to Dm7.
In general, this section uses a mix of minor and altered dominant chords, creating chromatic tension and release—key features of the modal jazz style that defines A Night in Tunisia. The last few chords provide a sense of movement, making the harmony feel like it is constantly shifting and evolving.
I hope it’s now clear how challenging it is to play the chords in A Night in Tunisia—make sure to master them before you start playing the melody and soloing!
In the course, you get TAB for how to play these chords and the melody, here’s a link: A Night In Tunisia – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Returning form the TAB lesson, armed with the know-how of what to actually play, all you need is this chord chart.
A Night In Tunisia Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart as a PDF, as this tune is rarely played in a different key.
That said, the iReal Pro format truly shines when it comes to jazz standards, as it offers MIDI backing tracks that actually sound quite good.
The serious player takes it through 12 keys—not because you’ll play it in another key, but because it deepens your understanding of the chord movements.
A Night In Tunisia TAB | Course Preview
There’s a silly amount of TAB for this one in the course as you must not just play the correct chords, but also make sure you can play them in several different parts of the neck!
As a preview, here’s the the verse which ends differently depending on what section you go to next!
A Night In Tunisia Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: A Night In Tunisia (Dizzy + Bird) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
