Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree by Sam H. Stept

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 4

Form: Verse → Verse → Verse → Chorus

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

Verse 1

• F – Cm – D7 – Gm – C7
  I – v – VI7 – ii – V7

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Verse 3

• F – Cm – D7 – Gm – C7 – G7 – C – Cdim
  I – v – VI7 – ii – V7 – II7 – V – v°

Chorus

• C7 – F (×2)
  V7 – I
• D7 – Gm7
  VI7 – ii7
• C7 – F (×4)
  V7 – I
• Cm – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – F – B♭ – F – C7 – F – D7 – Gm7
  v – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – I – IV – I – V7 – I – VI7 – ii7
• C7 – F (×4)
  V7 – I
• Cm – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – F – Gm7 – F – F7 – B♭ – Gm7
  v – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – I – ii7 – I – I7 – IV – ii7
• C7 – F (×2)
  V7 – I
• A7 – Dm7 – G7 – C7 – Caug – F – C7 – F – Cm – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – F
  III7 – vi7 – II7 – V7 – V+ – I – V7 – I – v – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – I

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
F	I	Home chord (tonic)	Verse, Chorus
Cm	v	Borrowed from F minor	Verse, Chorus
D7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	Verse, Chorus
Gm	ii	In the key	Verse
C7	V7	In the key	Verse, Chorus
G7	II7	Secondary dominant (V/V)	Verse, Chorus
C	V	In the key	Verse
Cdim	v°	Outside the key (chromatic)	Verse
Gm7	ii7	In the key	Chorus
B♭	IV	In the key	Chorus
F7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	Chorus
A7	III7	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	Chorus
Dm7	vi7	In the key	Chorus
Caug	V+	Borrowed from F minor	Chorus

Harmonic highlights

• Cm (v) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• Caug (V+) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• D7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Gm.
• G7 acts as V/V: it resolves to C.
• F7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to B♭.
• A7 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Dm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree” (credited “Sam H Stept, Lew Brown, Charlie Tobias (1942)”, style Medium Swing) 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 “Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree” (credited “Charles Tobias Lou Brown”, style Medium Swing) 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 80%).
• 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.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.