Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Here's That Rainy Day" was composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke for the 1953 Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders. Although the show closed after just six performances, this song endured to become one of the most recorded ballads in jazz history, with over 700 versions to date.

The form is a 32-bar ABAC structure. While the original key is F major, jazz musicians most commonly play it in G major. The harmony is strikingly sophisticated: from a major tonic opening, the second measure plunges into distant tonal territory via the ♭VI region, mirroring the lyric's theme of unexpected heartbreak. The bass line frequently moves through the circle of fourths, creating a sense of directionless searching. The C section artfully unifies elements of both A and B, bringing the piece to a poignant resolution. It is typically performed as a slow ballad, though bossa nova arrangements are also popular.

Frank Sinatra's 1959 recording on the album No One Cares is widely considered the definitive version — talk show host Johnny Carson famously called it his favorite song. Bill Evans delivered an exquisitely introspective piano trio interpretation that has also become a touchstone for the tune.