Days of Wine and Roses

Harmonic analysis of the jazz standard "All the Things You Are" by Henry Mancini.

Days of Wine and Roses was composed by Henry Mancini in 1962. The song follows a 32 bar AB form and is often played in the key of F major. This is an analysis of the harmony in Days of Wine and Roses and an explanation of the concepts used in the analysis. The image above shows my full analysis, which I will explore in more detail below. You can refer to the conventions page to explore the analytic concepts used or get the PDF for free.

The A section begins with a measure of I to bVII followed by a iii - V/ii - ii fourths cadence leading back to the bVII. The B section begins with a iii - vi - ii with the third inversion of the ii in the fourth measure. The harmonic rhythm changes in the next two bars of ii/vi - V/vi - vi -vi/7 before ending with a measure of ii and a measure of V. This leads back to another A section followed by a C section. The C section begins with iii followed by a descending bass line of vi - vi/7 - ii/iii - V/iii leading to a cycle of fourths iii - vi - i - V ending on I. If the form is repeated, a ii - V leads back to the top of the tune.

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