Over The Rainbow | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
| Gadd9 | Gadd9/D I Am11 | 6/4 D9sus4/A |
Chorus 1
| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow,
| Cadd9 | Cm6 | Gmaj9 | G9 Amadd4 G/B |
way up high,
| C | Cm7 | Gadd9 G/F# | Em |
there’s a land that I’ve heard of once,
| Am13 | D7sus4 D/F# | Gadd9 | A7omit3 D/F# |
once in a lullaby.
Chorus 2
| Gadd9 /F# | Em | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow,
| C /A | Cm6 | Gmaj9 | G7sus2 Amadd4 G/B |
skies are blue.
| Cadd9 | Cm7 | Gadd9 G/F# | Em |
When the dreams that you dare to dream,
| Am13 | D7sus4 D/F# | Gadd9 | Am7 D/F# |
really do come true.
Verse 1
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Am11 | D/F# |
Someday I’ll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far
| Gmaj9 /F# | Emadd9 | Am7 | D6 D9sus4 |
behind me.
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | F#7 | F#7 |
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops,
| Bm | Bm/Bb | Am7 | 7/4 D7/F# |
that’s where you’ll find me.
Solo
| 4/4 G Dadd4 | Cmaj13 | Bm | G9 |
| Cmaj7#11 | Cm13 | G | G7 |
| Cmaj7#11 | Cm13 | G D6add9/F# | Em9 |
| Am13 | 3/4 D7sus4 | 2/4 D6 | 4/4 Gadd9 | Am7 D/F# |
Verse 2
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | Am11 | D/F# |
Someday I’ll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far
| Gmaj9 /F# | Emadd9 | Am7 | D6 D9sus4 |
behind me.
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | F#7 | F#7 |
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, way above the chimney tops,
| Bm | Bm/Bb | Am7 | D7/F# | D7/F# |
that’s where you’ll find me.
Chorus 3
| G /F# | Em7 | Bm7 | G7 Am7add4 G/B |
Somewhere over the rainbow,
| Cadd9 | Cm6 | Gmaj9 | G9 Amadd4 G/B |
skies are blue.
| C | Cm7 | G G/F# | Em7 |
And the dreams that you dared to dream,
| Am13 | D7sus4 D/F# | Gadd9 | Gadd9/D |
they really do come true.
Outro
| Gadd9 | Gadd9/D | Am11 | D7sus4 |
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why,
| D7/F# | D7/F# | Cadd9 | Cadd9 | Ab | Ab | G |
oh why can’t I?
Over The Rainbow Chords: Learn the progressions
If we disregard the complex chord extensions, Over The Rainbow’s chords could be described using Roman Numerals like this for the chorus:
| Gsus2 (I) | Em (VI) | Bm7 (III) | G7 (I) Amadd4 (II) |
The second line starts on chord IV, before the characteristic IVm switch, like this:
| Cadd9 (IV) | Cm6 (IVm) | Gmaj9 (I) | G9 Amadd4 (II) G/B |
This IV – IVm switch happens again on the next line, like this:
| C (IV) | Cm7 (IVm) | Gadd9 (I) | Em (VI) |
The final line is a II – V – I, the complexity lies in the extensions:
| Am13 (II) | D7sus4 (V) D/F# | Gadd9 (I) | A7omit3 (II) D/F# (V) |
Here’s the verse progression:
| Gadd9 (I) | Gadd9 | Am11 (II) | D/F# (V/3) |
| Gmaj9 | Emadd9 | Am7 | D6 D9sus4 |
| Gadd9 | Gadd9 | F#7 (VIIx) | F#7 |
| Bm (III) | Bm/Bb (III/7) | Am7 (II) | D7/F# (V/3) | D7/F# |
Below is a simplified chord chart I made for you.
Over The Rainbow Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
The chord extensions of Eva Cassidy’s Over The Rainbow are so complex that you need TAB to get it right. Once you’ve been through the process of practising it, a simplified chord chart may be helpful.
If you compare the chart to the chords and lyrics, you’ll notice exactly how the chart is simplified. If I included all variations in all verses it would have read like a transcription.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Over The Rainbow Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Over The Rainbow iReal Pro.
Below is a play–along TAB loop, this is what we use in the course to learn Eva’s version note for note.
Over The Rainbow TAB | Course Preview
Eva Cassidy‘s live version of Over The Rainbow is one of the most beautiful guitar arrangements I’ve ever heard.
It was recorded live in a jazz club when she was unknown to the world.
In 2000, an English TV producer broadcasted the performance, four years after Eva had passed away.
The reaction to this recording was so intense it made her posthumously world famous.
I felt this recording was so great, that I transcribed it note-for-note. Above you can play along with the opening chorus using the video, below you see the same TAB as an image.
Members look at the verses and remaining choruses in the same depth, using play-along TAB loops, just like you saw above.
We also look at how this iconic tune can be arranged as a nursery rhyme and played as a jazz standard.
Only by learning Eva’s arrangement note for note can we fully appreciate this masterpiece. Every step is practised slowly, fast, and at a free tempo with full TAB and practice loops.
It will take you six guitar lessons to achieve this for all sections of the entire song. In the final two lessons, we practice Lydian in all shapes as this relates to the melody of Over The Rainbow.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Over The Rainbow – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Over The Rainbow is the best song in the world!
Written by Harold Arlen and lyricist Yip Harburg for the movie Wizard Of Oz (1939). Sung by Judy Garland it, and the movie, of course, were an international hit.
In 2001, Over the Rainbow was voted the ‘Greatest Song of the 20th Century’ by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.
Since all the best songs were written last century this must mean Over The Rainbow is the best song in the world.
Two big covers have been released, the first by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole in 1993 using just a Ukulele. Famously he phoned the studio in the middle of the night, recorded it in one take, and left.
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version has sold over 5 million copies.
The second big version was also done in one take. Captured live at the Jazz club Blues Alley. Shown on Top Of The Pops in 2001, this version became so big it launched Eva Cassidy to the world, unfortunately, she had by now passed away.
There is a studio version of Over The Rainbow by Eva available as well, it is nowhere near as good as the live Blues Alley version.
As a jazz standard, Over The Rainbow has been recorded by Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Doris Day. Every other jazz singer you can think of has most likely also sung it live.
To me, Eva Cassidy did it the best on her own on that one night in the Blues Alley.
Over The Rainbow Chords | Related Pages
Over The Rainbow | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
To play Over The Rainbow, like Eva Cassidy did, exactly note-for-note, can only be achieved by breaking down each section and practising along with loops.
Before we do this, we look at how she developed it from a simple melody, via jazz, into her incredible version. We also practice Lydian.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- At Last chords by Etta James
- Can’t Take My Eyes Off You chords by Fanki Valli
- Close To You chords by the Carpenters
- Dream A Little Dream chords by Mama Cass
- You’re All I Need To Get By chords by Marvin Gaye
Harold Arlen tunes
Harold Arlen wrote over four hundred songs. His 1938 song Over The Rainbow was voted the twentieth century’s #1 song by the RIAA.
Nobody has had more songs represented in the Great American Songbook than Harold Arlen.
Harold Arlen on the web
Eva Cassidy tunes
Eva Cassidy was an American guitar player and vocalist who didn’t reach fame until after she passed away on November 2nd ’96.
Four years later, an amateur recording of Eva playing Over The Rainbow in her local pub was played on Top of the Pops 2, a TV show in the U.K.
Eva Cassidy on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Over The Rainbow chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
