Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Blues in the Night" is a landmark popular song composed by Harold Arlen (1905–1986) with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, written for the 1941 Warner Bros. film of the same name (originally titled Hot Nocturne). The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and composer Jerome Kern publicly stated it deserved to win.

Set in the key of Eb major, the composition departs from the standard 32-bar popular song form, employing a complex, multi-sectional structure spanning over 40 bars that Arlen described as a "tapeworm" melody. It incorporates authentic 12-bar blues sections directly into the song architecture—a pioneering approach that brought rural blues dialect and genuine blues melody into mainstream popular music. The famous opening line uses Southern vernacular to set a scene of hard-won wisdom passed from mother to child, establishing an emotional depth that extends throughout the song's exploration of longing, betrayal, and resilience. Arlen spent two days developing the melody—unusually long for his typically swift composing process—analyzing blues recordings before crafting the tune.

Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, and Dinah Shore all had hit recordings within months of its release. Frank Sinatra's version on Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958) and Ella Fitzgerald's on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (1961) are among the most treasured jazz interpretations.