Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Come Rain or Come Shine" is a standard composed in 1946 by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the Broadway musical St. Louis Woman, which, despite a short run, produced this enduring classic of the Great American Songbook.

Typically performed in F major, the song follows a 32-bar A-B-C form. The A sections feature syncopated, blues-inflected phrases built on repeated notes that create dramatic tension, while the bridge introduces smoother, more lyrical contours as contrast. Harmonically, the tune moves through unexpected modulations—including shifts from F major to D minor—that give it a rich, almost restless quality beneath its seemingly simple surface. As jazz historian Ted Gioia has observed, the composition's spare melodic material atop lush harmonic underpinnings tends to reward introspective improvisers rather than grandstanding ones.

Among the most celebrated jazz recordings are Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' driving version on Moanin' (1958) and Ray Charles's soulful 1959 rendition. Equally noteworthy are the reflective interpretations by Bill Evans and Stan Getz, which highlight the tune's pastoral qualities.