Lullaby of the Leaves by Bernice Petkere

Overview

Key: C minor · Chords used: 15 · Sections: 4

Form: 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

A Section 1

• Cm – Am7♭5 – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fm7 – E♭7 – Dm7♭5 – G7 – Cm – A♭7 – G7♭9
  i – viø7 – II7 – V7 – v7 – I7 – iv7 – bIII7 – iiø7 – V7 – i – bVI7 – V7b9

A Section 2

• Cm – Am7♭5 – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fm7 – E♭7 – Dm7♭5 – G7 – Cm
  i – viø7 – II7 – V7 – v7 – I7 – iv7 – bIII7 – iiø7 – V7 – i

Bridge

• A♭7 – C6 – G9sus4 – C6 – C7 – A♭7 – C6 – A7 – Dm7♭5 – G7
  bVI7 – I6 – V9sus4 – I6 – I7 – bVI7 – I6 – VI7 – iiø7 – V7

A Section 3

• Cm – Am7♭5 – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fm7 – E♭9 – Dm7♭5 – G7 – Cm – Dm7♭5 – G7♭9
  i – viø7 – II7 – V7 – v7 – I7 – iv7 – bIII9 – iiø7 – V7 – i – iiø7 – V7b9

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Cm	i	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Am7♭5	viø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7	II7	Secondary dominant (V/V)	A Section
G7	V7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
Gm7	v7	In the key	A Section
C7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/iv)	A Section, Bridge
Fm7	iv7	In the key	A Section
E♭7	bIII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Dm7♭5	iiø7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
A♭7	bVI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
G7♭9	V7b9	In the key	A Section
C6	I6	Borrowed from C major	Bridge
G9sus4	V9sus4	Borrowed from C major	Bridge
A7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	Bridge
E♭9	bIII9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section

Harmonic highlights

• C6 (I6) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.
• G9sus4 (V9sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.
• D7 acts as V/V: it resolves to G7.
• C7 acts as V/iv: it resolves to Fm7.
• A7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Dm7♭5.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Lullaby Of The Leaves” (credited “Petkere Bernice”, 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 “Lullaby Of The Leaves” (credited “Petkere Bernice”, 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 83%).
• 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.
• 5 chords were 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.