Surrey With The Fringe On Top by Richard Rodgers

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 19 · Sections: 5

Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → A Section → Tag

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

• Gmaj7 – Am7 – Bm7 – Am7 (×2)
  Imaj7 – ii7 – iii7 – ii7
• Gmaj7 – Am7 – Bm7 – B7♯9 – Em7 – A7 – Am7 – D7
  Imaj7 – ii7 – iii7 – III7#9 – vi7 – II7 – ii7 – V7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Bridge

• Dm7 – G7 – C6 – A7♯9 – Dm7 – G7 – C6 – Em7 – A7 – D6 – B7♯9 – Em7 – A7 – Am7 – D7
  v7 – I7 – IV6 – II7#9 – v7 – I7 – IV6 – vi7 – II7 – V6 – III7#9 – vi7 – II7 – ii7 – V7

A Section 3

• Gmaj7 – Am7 – Bm7 – Am7 (×3)
  Imaj7 – ii7 – iii7 – ii7
• Bm7♭5 – E7 – Am – Cm6 – G/D – Am7 – D7 – G – D7sus4
  iiiø7 – VI7 – ii – iv6 – I⁶₄ – ii7 – V7 – I – V7sus4

Tag

• G/D – D7sus4 (×3)
  I⁶₄ – V7sus4
• D7 – G
  V7 – I

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Gmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Am7	ii7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
Bm7	iii7	In the key	A Section
B7♯9	III7#9	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	A Section, Bridge
Em7	vi7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
A7	II7	Secondary dominant (V/V)	Bridge
D7	V7	In the key	A Section, Bridge, Tag
Dm7	v7	Borrowed from G minor	Bridge
G7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	Bridge
C6	IV6	In the key	Bridge
A7♯9	II7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D6	V6	In the key	Bridge
Bm7♭5	iiiø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
Am	ii	In the key	A Section
Cm6	iv6	Borrowed from G minor	A Section
G/D	I⁶₄	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, Tag
G	I	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, Tag
D7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	A Section, Tag

Harmonic highlights

• Dm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• Cm6 (iv6) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• B7♯9 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Em7.
• A7 acts as V/V: it resolves to D6.
• G7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to C6.
• E7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Am.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Surrey With The Fringe On Top (k ver)” (credited “Rodgers Richard”, style Medium Swing) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart.
• 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 “Surrey With The Fringe On Top-Rev JE” (credited “Rodgers Richard”, style Swing Two-Four) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 84%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 3 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.