Chords + Lyrics | Why Don’t You Do Right?
Intro
| N.C | Gm7 | Bb/F | Bb A7 Dm7 | N.C | N.C |
Verse 1
| Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
You had plenty money 1922, you let other women make a fool of you.
| Gm7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm7 (Dm9) | Dm7 (Dm9) |
Why don’t you do right? Like some other men do.
| Bb7 A7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Verse 2
You’re sittin’ down and wonderin’ what it’s all about. You ain’t got no money, they will put you out.
Why don’t you do right? Like some other men do.
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Verse 3
If you had prepared twenty years ago, you wouldn’t be wanderin’ from door to door.
Why don’t you do right? Like some other men do.
| Bb7 A7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm7 N.C | Gm7 Bb9 A7 |
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Solo (as verse)
| Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
| Gm7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm7 (Dm9) | Dm7 (Dm9) |
| Bb7 A7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
Verse 4
I fell for your jivin’ and I, took you in. Now all you’ve got to offer me is a drink of Gin.
Why don’t you do right? Like some other men do.
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Outro
| Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?
| Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
Like some other men do?
End
| N.C Gm7 A7 | Bb7 A7 Dm7 | Dm7 | N.C Dsus2 |
Why don’t you do right? Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Why don’t you do right?. Rather than using stem separation to extract the guitar as I usually do, this backing track with and without piano was created using iReal Pro.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
There are many versions of this jazz standard, let’s focus on the most famous, by Peggy Lee. Further down this guitar lesson, I’ll show you my version which is in a different key and uses a different chord progression…
Intro
The intro is drums, horns and bass lines but we can play teh chords should the horn section be stuck in traffic:
| N.C | Gm7 | Bb/F | Bb A7 Dm7 | N.C | N.C |
Note that Gm7, Bb/F, and Bb is the same chord, only the bass change.
Verse
Here the verse, which is the complete tune as we also play this for the solo:
| Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
| Gm7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm7 (Dm9) | Dm7 (Dm9) |
| Bb7 A7 | Bb7 A7 | Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 |
That Dm6 – Bm7b5 sound so great! Do compare the Bb7 – A7 to what you hear in The Thrill Is Gone, another minor blues with chords a semiton apart like this.
When we go to Gm7 it feels like a release, this is chord II. When we return to Dm, it’s not with the signature loop, but a Dm, Dm7, Dm9. To illustrate how it moves between these chords, I put Dm9 in brackets.
Before the solo, the final two bars move like this:
| Dm7 N.C | Gm7 Bb9 A7 |
Outro
First, the outro loops the signature chord riff, then start adding chords similar to the intro, but not the same.
||: Dm6 Bm7b5 | Bb7 A7 :||
| N.C Gm7 A7 | Bb7 A7 Dm7 | Dm7 | N.C Dsus2 |
Practice along with my backing track and the original recording to get the right feel for Why Don’t You Do Right?’s chords. Here’s a chart.
Why Don’t You Do Right Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Why Don’t You Do Right chord chart PDF,
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Why Don’t You Do Right iReal Pro,
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key and even play along with the virtual band. This works pretty well when it’s a jazz tune, although to make the backing track you find above, I had to edit the audio to fit a simple looking chord chart.
Next, let’s look at an old recording I did of this tune with a singer back in 2007 when I launched Spytunes. There’s TAB for this too.
Chords + Lyrics | Why Don’t You Do Right
Intro
||: Cm7 Bb | Ab7 G7 :|| x4
Verse 1
| Cm7 N.C | Ab7 G7 | Cm7 N.C | Ab7 G7 |
You had plenty money, 1922, you let other women make a fool of you.
| Fm Bb | Ab7 G7 | Cm9 | Ab7 G7 |
Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?
| Fm N.C G7 | Fm N.C G7 | Cm9 | Abmaj7 G |
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Verse 2
| Cm7 Bb Abmaj7 Fm | Abmaj7 G7 |
You’re sittin’ there and wonderin’ what it’s all about,
| Cm7 Bb Abmaj7 Fm | Abmaj7 G7 |
you ain’t got no money, they will put you out.
| Fm Bb | Ab7 G7 | Cm9 | Abmaj7 G |
Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?
| Fm N.C G7 | Fm N.C G7 | Cm9 | (Eb D Eb E) |
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Solo
| Fm7 | Db7 C7 | Fm7 | Db7 C7 |
| Bbm | Db7 C7 | Fm7 | Db7 C7 |
| Bbm N.C C7 | Bbm N.C C7 | Fm Bb | (G Ab A Bb B) |
Verse 3
| Cm7 | Abmaj7 G | Cm7 | Abmaj7 G7 |
If you had prepared twenty years ago, you wouldn’t be a-wanderin’ from door to door.
| Fm | Abmaj7 G7 | Cm7 | Abmaj7 G |
Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?
| Fm N.C G7 | Fm N.C G7 | Cm7 | Abmaj13 G |
Get out of here and get me some money too.
Outro
| Cm7 | Ab7 G7 | Cm7 | Abmaj13 G |
Why don’t you do right, like some other men do?
| Cm7 | Ab7 G7 | Cm7 | Ab7 G7 |
Like some other men do? Yeah, mm-hm.
End
| (C G Eb C) | (G A B C) Cmmaj7 | Cmmaj7 |
Why Don’t You Do Right | TAB (acoustic arrangement)
You might have noticed that I’m not playing the same chords as the original. There’s no m6 chord, and the bass line goes down a tone first, not a m3rd.
Perhaps this seems like a mistake from my side, but then how do you explain all these other versions that do this too? Check them out at the top of this page n the play list. Anyway, that’s my excuse, here’s the TAB for what I play in that old video you see above.
Why Don’t You Do Right? TAB | Solo
The Secret to Getting Better: Why Don’t You Do Right as a Jazz Standard and applying the approach to all tunes
When learning jazz standards, it’s crucial to listen to multiple versions, such as those by Julie London and Peggy Lee.
The solo I recorded for Why Don’t You Do Right follows the melody but is modulated to Fm, a fourth up from Cm.
To master any jazz standard, you must learn both the melody and chords, as well as play this in several keys – this will lay the foundation for your jazz playing, nothing else will work.
By observing the notes of the melody over the chords, you’ll quickly identify the most important intervals, helping you choose the right modes and arpeggios. Never start soloing without having played the melody!
If you apply this method to every tune you learn, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the music and how it relates to the guitar. It’s really that simple—the challenge lies in doing it, whether it’s a jazz standard or not!
Why Don’t You Do Right Chords: Continue Learning
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