Hard-Hearted Hannah

Words & Music by Milton Ager, Charles Bates, Robert Bigelow & Jack Yellon, 1924
Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 1955
From the movie "Pete Kelly's Blues"


D        D6      D         D6
In old Savannah, I said Savannah, 

     G      Gdim      D        B7
The weather there is nice and warm!

     G       Gdim     D      B7
The climate's of a Southern brand, 

     D          B7      E7      A7
But here's what I don't understand:

D          D6        D         D6
They got a gal there, a pretty gal there, 

       G    Gdim     D        B7
Who's colder than an Arctic storm,

G           Gdim        D        B7
She's got a heart just like a stone,

E7                 A7
Even the ice men leave her alone!


               D            D6         D         Cdim
They call her Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah,

     A7      Em7    A7
The meanest gal in town;

A7          Em7        A7      A7+5     Gdim
Leather is tough, but Hannah's heart is tougher,

D               Gdim     Em7     A7+5
She's a gal who loves to see men suffer!

    D              F#m           Bm7         Cdim
To tease 'em, and thrill 'em, to torture and kill 'em,

G         G/B   Em7     F#7
Is her delight, they say,

  G              Gdim            D         B7
I saw her at the seashore with a great big can,

           G             F#7         B7
There was Hannah pouring water on a drowning man!

      G             Em7        A7        Em7    A7   D  Cdim  G/B  A7
She's Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, G - A!


               D            D6         D         Cdim
They call her Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah,

    A7      Em7    A7
The meanest gal in town;

A7              Em7     A7   A7+5   Gdim
Talk about your cold, refrigeratin' mama,

D                Gdim   Em7     A7+5
Brother, she's a polar bear's pajama!

    D              F#m           Bm7         Cdim
To tease 'em, and thrill 'em, to torture and kill 'em,

G         G/B   Em7   F#7
Is her delight, they say,

    G                  Gdim          D         B7
An evening spent with Hannah sittin' on your knees,

          G             F#7            B7
Is like drivin' through Alaska in your B - V - Ds.

             G           Em7        A7        Em7    A7   D  Gdim  D
She's just Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, G - A!


*Thanks to fellow piano bar denizen Don H. for providing source material on this one.


 
The lyric and guitar chord transcriptions on this site are the work of The Guitarguy and are intended for private study, research, or educational purposes only. Individual transcriptions are inspired by and and based upon the recorded versions cited, but are not necessarily exact replications of those recorded versions.