Them There Eyes: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
Them There Eyes by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber & William Tracey, key of D (swing), form A. Below is the full chord grid; on Haute Gitanerie you can play along with a scrolling chord ribbon, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and switch on a rhythm backing (la pompe) to practise your solos over the changes.
About
Published in 1930 and written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber and William Tracey, Them There Eyes was made famous by Billie Holiday's 1939 recording (Louis Armstrong had cut it in 1931). Its bounce made it a jam-session and manouche favourite.
The sound: a happy D major spiced with chromatic passing chords (D♭7, G♭7, A♭°7) and a bright dominant chain E7–A7–D; the Am–D7–G move nods to the IV.
Practising it: target the E7–A7–D arpeggios and let the diminished chords guide chromatic voice-leading, then the Am–D7–G ii–V. Keep it a light, medium swing.
Them There Eyes chords: the grille
A : | D | D | C#7 | C#7 | D | D | Em | Em | F#7 | F#7 | Bm | Bm | E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | D | D | C#7 | C#7 | Am | D7 | G | G | G | A♭° | D | Bm | E7 | A7 | D | D |
Chords used
D · C#7 · Em · F#7 · Bm · E7 · A7 · Am · D7 · G · A♭°
Play along
Open the interactive grille for Them There Eyes: loop any section, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and play over a rhythm accompaniment, with a real recorded pompe on featured tunes. In the browser, free.