Chelsea Bridge by Billy Strayhorn

Overview

Key: D♭ major · Chords used: 20 · Sections: 5

Form: Intro → A Section → A Section → Bridge → A Section

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

Intro

• E♭m7 – A♭7 – D♭6 – C7 – B7
  ii7 – V7 – I6 – VII7 – #VI7

A Section 1

• B♭mmaj7 – A♭mmaj7 (×2)
  vimaj7 – vmaj7
• B♭7 – E♭m7 – A♭7 – D♭6 – C7 – B7
  VI7 – ii7 – V7 – I6 – VII7 – #VI7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Bridge

• F♯m7 – B7 – Emaj7 – C♯m7 – F♯m7 – B7♯9 – Bm7 – E7 – Amaj7 – Am – D7 – Gmaj7 – Gm7 – C7 – D♭7 – C7 – B7
  #iii7 – #VI7 – #IImaj7 – #vii7 – #iii7 – #VI7#9 – #vi7 – #II7 – #Vmaj7 – #v – #I7 – #IVmaj7 – #iv7 – VII7 – I7 – VII7 – #VI7

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
E♭m7	ii7	In the key	Intro, A Section
A♭7	V7	In the key	Intro, A Section
D♭6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section
C7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section, Bridge
B7	#VI7	Borrowed from D♭ minor	Intro, A Section, Bridge
B♭mmaj7	vimaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A♭mmaj7	vmaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
F♯m7	#iii7	Borrowed from D♭ minor	Bridge
Emaj7	#IImaj7	Borrowed from D♭ minor	Bridge
C♯m7	#vii7	Borrowed from D♭ minor	Bridge
B7♯9	#VI7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Bm7	#vi7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
E7	#II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Amaj7	#Vmaj7	Borrowed from D♭ minor	Bridge
Am	#v	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D7	#I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Gmaj7	#IVmaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Gm7	#iv7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D♭7	I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge

Harmonic highlights

• B7 (#VI7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• F♯m7 (#iii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• Emaj7 (#IImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• C♯m7 (#vii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• Amaj7 (#Vmaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• B♭7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to E♭m7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Chelsea Bridge” (credited “Strayhorn Billy”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Chelsea Bridge” (credited “Strayhorn Billy”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• 1 chord was simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.