Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis | Niels Dalgaard
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Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
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Ray Henderson · 1925 · C major · AABA, 32 bars

Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue — Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Four secondary dominants in a row, each the dominant of the next, walking the long way around the cycle back to the tonic. If you want to hear the ragtime progression naked, this is it.

Secondary dominants

Chord progression

Analyzed excerpt

Section: A · Bars 1–12

C | C | E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 | C | C

This is a short excerpt, not the full chart. The composition dates from 1925 and is old enough that it is very likely in the public domain in the United States, which is why the excerpt runs longer here — but copyright status varies by territory and by edition, so treat that as context, not as legal advice.

The books behind this page

Every one of these tunes is assembled out of the same handful of harmonic resources. Jazz Harmony is those resources, explained in the order in which they build on each other.

Start here Project 03 · Harmony

Jazz Harmony

From tradition to the expectation framework · For any instrument Project 05 · Harmony

Harmonic Narrative

A practical method for creating and understanding harmonic progressions through expectation Project 04 · Jazz guitar

Jazz Guitar Comping

Creating direction through harmony, rhythm and the expectation framework

Harmonic analysis

Key
C major
Tonal center
C
Confidence
High
Chords analysed
12
ChordRoman numeralFunctionWhat it is doingConfidence
CITonicC is the tonic of C. It is where the progression is at rest.High
CITonicC is the tonic of C. It is where the progression is at rest.High
E7V7/viDominantE7 is functioning as V7/vi: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of A, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at vi instead.Low
E7V7/viDominantE7 is functioning as V7/vi: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of A, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at vi instead.High
A7V7/iiDominantA7 is functioning as V7/ii: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of D, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at ii instead.Low
A7V7/iiDominantA7 is functioning as V7/ii: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of D, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at ii instead.High
D7V7/VDominantD7 is functioning as V7/V: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of G, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at V instead.Low
D7V7/VDominantD7 is functioning as V7/V: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of G, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at V instead.High
G7V7DominantG7 is the dominant of C. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.High
G7V7DominantG7 is the dominant of C. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.High
CITonicC is the tonic of C. It is where the progression is at rest.High
CITonicC is the tonic of C. It is where the progression is at rest.High

High, medium and low next to each numeral are judgements about musical context, not probabilities. A low rating marks a bar that can honestly be read more than one way. How the ratings are decided →

Why this example matters

Numbered against C major, the excerpt is I – V7/vi – V7/ii – V7/V – V7. Inside those 12 chords there is at least one secondary dominant. Take the roots away and keep the third and seventh. In E7 that is Ab and D. Those two notes decide where the progression is going, and hearing them move is worth more than naming the chords. Stella by Starlight, How High the Moon and Ornithology use the same device, which is the argument for learning it once properly rather than three times by accident.

How the rest of Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue goes

A short, cheerful form built on the same descending dominant chain that powers Sweet Georgia Brown, arriving at the tonic by the most direct route available. There is nothing hidden in it at all. Its value in a teaching setting is exactly that transparency: a student can hear each dominant resolve to the next and name what is happening in real time, which is much harder in a tune where the chain is disguised by added ii chords.

Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue on record

Published in 1925 with music by Ray Henderson and words by Sam Lewis and Joe Young. It belongs to the novelty end of the period’s output and is now played almost exclusively in traditional jazz settings and at sing-alongs. Its inclusion in a harmony library is on structural grounds rather than repertoire ones: it is the dominant chain with nothing else attached.

Analyze this progression

Open these chords in the analyzer and change them. Move one chord, substitute a dominant, take the ii away — the reading updates and tells you what you just did.

Open in Jazz Harmony Analyzer →

Related

Secondary dominants

What this device is, and the other standards in the library that use it.

Read →

Stella by Starlight

Victor Young · 1944 · B♭ major

Chord progression →

How High the Moon

Morgan Lewis · 1940 · G major

Chord progression →

Ornithology

Charlie Parker · 1946 · G major

Chord progression →

Jazz chord progressions

The families every standard is assembled from, with examples from the library.

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