Chords + Lyrics | Summertime
Intro
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
| Ebm7 Gb | Ebm7 Ebm7/Db | F7b9/C Gb7 | F7 |
Verse 1
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
Summertime, and the living is easy.
| Ebm7 Gb | Ebm7 Ebm7/Db | F7b9/C Gb7 | F7 |
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high.
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
Oh, your daddy’s rich, and your ma is good-looking.
| Db Bbm7 | Eb7 Ab7 | Db Gb7 | Cm7 F7 |
So, hush, little baby, don’t you cry.
Verse 2
One of these mornings you’re going to rise up singing.
Then you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to sky.
But ’til that morning, there’s a-nothing can harm you.
With daddy and mammy standing by.
Solo
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
| Ebm7 Gb | Ebm7 Ebm7/Db | F7b9/C Gb7 | F7 |
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
| Db Bbm7 | Eb7 Ab7 | Db Gb7 | Cm7 F7 |
Verse 3
One of these mornings you’re going to rise up singing.
Then you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to sky.
But ’til that morning, there’s a-nothing can harm you.
| Db Bbm7 | Eb7 Ab7 | Db N.C | N.C Bm7 Bbm7 |
With daddy and mammy standing by.
Summertime | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
| Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 | Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 |
| Dm7 F | Dm7 Dm7/C | Bdim7 F7 | E7 |
Verse 1
| Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 | Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 |
Summertime, and the living is easy.
| Dm7 F | Dm7 Dm7/C | Bdim7 F7 | E7 |
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high.
| Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 | Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 |
Oh, your daddy’s rich, and your ma is good-looking.
| C Am7 | D7 G7 | C F7 | Bm7 E7 |
So, hush, little baby, don’t you cry.
Verse 2
One of these mornings you’re going to rise up singing.
Then you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to sky.
But ’til that morning, there’s a-nothing can harm you.
With daddy and mammy standing by.
Solo
| Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 | Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 |
| Dm7 F | Dm7 Dm7/C | Bdim7 F7 | E7 |
| Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 | Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 |
| C Am7 | D7 G7 | C F7 | Bm7 E7 |
Verse 3
One of these mornings you’re going to rise up singing.
Then you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to sky.
But ’til that morning, there’s a-nothing can harm you.
| C Am7 | D7 G7 | C N.C | N.C Bbm7 Am7 |
With daddy and mammy standing by.
Summertime Chords: How Billie Holiday Played It and How to Simplify It
Over the years, Summertime‘s chords have been altered so many times that there’s no definitive version—ask different musicians, and you’ll get different answers.
To keep things authentic, let’s go back to Billie Holiday‘s version and make sure we get that right.
Since guitarists often find it easier to think in Am rather than Bbm, we’ll move everything down a semitone. If you want to play along with the original recording, just place a capo on the first fret.
At its core, Summertime follows a minor blues progression with a major turnaround. The key to playing it well is alternating the bass. As long as you do that, the chords can be as simple as:
| Am7 (/E) | Am7 (/E) | Am7 (/E) | Am7 (/E) |
|1. Dm7 (/A) | Dm7 (/A) | E7 (/B) | E7 :|||
|2. C Am7 | D7omit3 G7 | C F | C E7 |
The first 12 bars move through VI – II – IIIx – VI, while the turnaround follows I – VI – II – V, a very common progression, then shifts to I – IV – I – IIIx.
I’ve put together some TAB showing a simplified way to play the first eight bars. Check out the lesson here: Summertime – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Turning Summertime’s Chords into a Jazzier Progression with Substitutions and Extensions
As you play the chords above, try singing along—you’ll find they work well, though the feel is more blues than jazz.
Now, let’s explore how we can add more jazz elements.
The first chords, Am7 and Am7/E, can be adjusted by replacing Am7/E with some type of E chord. Since E is IIIx, which naturally includes a b9, an E7b9 fits well—much more jazz!
A dom7b9 chord can always be replaced with a dim7 chord a whole step lower, as they share the same notes. In this case, that gives us Ddim7.
Since dim7 chords are built on stacked minor thirds, we can also use Bdim7, Fdim7, or Abdim7, as they are enharmonic equivalents. The closest one above Am7 is Bdim7.
If we keep ascending and play Am with its 3rd in the bass, we get C6. Returning to Bdim7, we create this progression as an alternative to Am7 – Am7/E:
||: Am7 Bdim7 | C6 Bdim7 :||
This is the progression Billie Holiday used (though in Bb, where many refer to Cdim7 as F7b9/C).
I’ve created a TAB showing how you could play this opening riff in Am—follow the link above to check it out.
The rest of the chord progression is altered in a similar way (see Summertime chords and lyrics in two keys).
After reviewing the TAB, this chord chart is all you’ll need for the gig!
Summertime Chords Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
If you’d like to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Summertime chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro—here’s a link to the file: Summertime iReal Pro.
With the iRealPro app, you can easily change the key, which is especially useful if you’re sharing the chart with other musicians or playing without a capo.
To really improve your guitar playing, try taking Summertime‘s chords through all 12 keys. You can use the built-in jazz band feature in iRealPro or, even better, record yourself with a loop pedal.
Summertime TAB | Course Preview
In the course, you get three different ideas for how to play Summertime, each building in complexity and style.
As a preview, here’s the first line of the simplest idea—using an open position Am chord.
The Opera That Became the Most-Covered Jazz Standard of All Time
Originally written for the opera Porgy & Bess (Gershwin, 1935), Summertime found new life as a jazz blues ballad when Billie Holiday recorded it the following year.
Since then, it has been recorded over 25,000 times, making it the most-covered song in history.
Beyond Billie’s iconic jazz rendition, standout versions include those by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, and Eva Cassidy.
Instrumental takes by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and YouTube sensation Chad LB are essential listening for anyone serious about soloing.
And let’s not forget the countless jazz singers and instrumentalists who have cut their teeth on this classic—you’d be hard-pressed to find a jazz musician who hasn’t played Summertime.
Thanks to these countless interpretations, Summertime remains one of the most enduring jazz standards. I’ve included many versions in the playlist at the top of this page—check them out!
Summertime Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Summertime (Billie Holiday) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
