I Want to Be Happy by Vincent Youmans
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 35 steps · 14 unique chords
C
No source cited for this step
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: C major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 8
Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → A Section → A Section → A Section → Bridge → A Section
Where these chords come from: a lead sheet of this public-domain song, contributed by a musician to the Wikifonia archive and preserved in the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018). It describes the song as written, not any particular recording. This page shows that lead sheet 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
A Section 1
- C
I - Dm7/G – G7 (×6)
ii7 (bass G) – V7 - C – G7
I – V7
A Section 2
- C
I - Dm7/G – G7 (×6)
ii7 (bass G) – V7 - C – G7 – C – Cdim
I – V7 – I – i°
Bridge 1
- Gm7 – C – Gm7 – C7 – B♭/C – C – Fmaj7 – Fm6 – C/G – C6/G
v7 – I – v7 – I7 – bVII (bass C) – I – IVmaj7 – iv6 – I⁶₄ – I6 (bass G) - Dm7 – G7 (×2)
ii7 – V7
A Section 3
- C
I - Dm7/G – G7 (×6)
ii7 (bass G) – V7 - C6 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7
I6 – vi7 – ii7 – V7
A Section 4
Same chords as A Section 1.
A Section 5
Same chords as A Section 2.
Bridge 2
Same chords as Bridge 1.
A Section 6
- C
I - Dm7/G – G7 (×6)
ii7 (bass G) – V7 - C
I
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | I | Home chord (tonic) | A Section, Bridge |
| Dm7/G | ii7 (bass G) | In the key | A Section |
| G7 | V7 | In the key | A Section, Bridge |
| Cdim | i° | Outside the key (chromatic) | A Section |
| Gm7 | v7 | Borrowed from C minor | Bridge |
| C7 | I7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Bridge |
| B♭/C | bVII (bass C) | Borrowed from C minor | Bridge |
| Fmaj7 | IVmaj7 | In the key | Bridge |
| Fm6 | iv6 | Borrowed from C minor | Bridge |
| C/G | I⁶₄ | Home chord (tonic) | Bridge |
| C6/G | I6 (bass G) | Home chord (tonic) | Bridge |
| Dm7 | ii7 | In the key | Bridge, A Section |
| C6 | I6 | Home chord (tonic) | A Section |
| Am7 | vi7 | In the key | A Section |
Harmonic highlights
- Gm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
- B♭/C (bVII (bass C)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
- Fm6 (iv6) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
Sources & accuracy
- Chords: the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018). Community-contributed lead sheet (chord symbols over the melody) from the Wikifonia archive, MIT licence. Title and songwriter credit as written on the sheet.
- Section names: detected by code from repeated 8-, 12- and 16-bar phrases (letters such as A and B mark different phrases; a phrase that comes back keeps its letter). Lead sheets rarely print section names.
- Not verified: only one lead sheet of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
- Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the public-domain lead sheet listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018)Community lead sheet
Chords as written in a lead sheet of a public-domain song, contributed by a musician to the Wikifonia archive; not checked against a recording.
Community-contributed lead sheet (chord symbols over the melody) from the Wikifonia archive, MIT licence. Title and songwriter credit as written on the sheet.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Section 1, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 2 | A Section 1, part 2 (×6) | Dm7/G | G2 | C4, D4, F4, A4 | — |
| 3 | A Section 1, part 2 (×6) | G7 | G2, D3 | B3, D4, F4 | — |
| 4 | A Section 1, part 3 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 5 | A Section 1, part 3 | G7 | G2, D3 | B3, D4, F4 | — |
| 6 | A Section 2, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 7 | A Section 2, part 2 (×6) | Dm7/G | G2 | C4, D4, F4, A4 | — |
| 8 | A Section 2, part 2 (×6) | G7 | G2, D3 | B3, D4, F4 | — |
| 9 | A Section 2, part 3 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 10 | A Section 2, part 3 | G7 | G2, D3 | B3, D4, F4 | — |
| 11 | A Section 2, part 3 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 12 | A Section 2, part 3 | Cdim | C2, C3 | C4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 13 | Bridge 1, part 1 | Gm7 | G2, D3 | B♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 14 | Bridge 1, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 15 | Bridge 1, part 1 | Gm7 | G2, D3 | B♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 16 | Bridge 1, part 1 | C7 | C2, G2 | B♭3, E4, G4 | — |
| 17 | Bridge 1, part 1 | B♭/C | C2 | B♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 18 | Bridge 1, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 19 | Bridge 1, part 1 | Fmaj7 | F2, C3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 20 | Bridge 1, part 1 | Fm6 | F2, C3 | C4, D4, A♭4 | — |
| 21 | Bridge 1, part 1 | C/G | G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 22 | Bridge 1, part 1 | C6/G | G2 | C4, E4, G4, A4 | — |
| 23 | Bridge 1, part 2 (×2) | Dm7 | D2, A2 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 24 | Bridge 1, part 2 (×2) | G7 | G2, D3 | D4, F4, B4 | — |
| 25 | A Section 3, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 26 | A Section 3, part 2 (×6) | Dm7/G | G2 | D4, F4, A4, C5 | — |
| 27 | A Section 3, part 2 (×6) | G7 | G2, D3 | D4, F4, B4 | — |
| 28 | A Section 3, part 3 | C6 | C2, G2 | E4, G4, A4 | — |
| 29 | A Section 3, part 3 | Am7 | A2, E3 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 30 | A Section 3, part 3 | Dm7 | D2, A2 | F4, A4, C5 | — |
| 31 | A Section 3, part 3 | G7 | G2, D3 | F4, B4, D5 | — |
| 32 | A Section 6, part 1 | C | C2, G2 | G4, C5, E5 | — |
| 33 | A Section 6, part 2 (×6) | Dm7/G | G2 | F4, A4, C5, D5 | — |
| 34 | A Section 6, part 2 (×6) | G7 | G2, D3 | F4, B4, D5 | — |
| 35 | A Section 6, part 3 | C | C2, G2 | G4, C5, E5 | — |