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6.14.5 "Georgia On My Mind" Chords: How the Chord Progression Works
There are 15 chords in "Georgia On My Mind," but the song only modulates from the major key to its relative minor.
(The example below is in the key of F major/D minor. Ray Charles recorded his version in the key of G major/E minor, so to play along with that version using the chords in this example, put the capo on the second fret.)
The song has as many as four chord variants at several degrees of the circular harmonic scale. At IIm, for example, there’s Gm, Gm7, Gm6, and G7. At III7, there’s A7, Am, and Am7. (See also Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”)
As the chord map below reveals (Figure 117), the chord progression also makes use of all seven degrees of the circular harmonic scale.
In the bridge, the song modulates to the relative minor key, D minor.
The only chromatic chord is a diminished chord that makes an appearance briefly towards the end of the verse, and again towards the end of the bridge.
FIGURE 117: Chord Map of “Georgia On My Mind” (Words by Stuart Gorrell, Music by Hoagy Carmichael, 1930)
A savvy mixture of fifth, third, and second progressions makes the harmony varied and interesting, without imperiling tonality.
In 1960, Ray Charles made the definitive recording of “Georgia on My Mind,” 30 years after it was written. The Righteous Brothers and Willie Nelson, among others, also recorded excellent renditions of this great classic.