Isn't It a Pity?

Words & Music by Ira & George Gershwin, 1933
Recorded by Mel Torme & Cleo Laine*, 1979


Intro verse:

Bm        Bm7/E  Em7                Em7-5
Why did I wander here and there and yonder,

D                Em9  D                 G6  A7
Wasting precious time for no reason or rhyme?

D          C#7    C7          B7
Isn't it a pity?  Isn't it a crime?

E            E9     Em7           Em7-5
My journey's ended, everything is splendid;

D            C#m7-5
Meeting you today

    F#m       Bm7-5       B7    E7sus4 E7 A7
Has given me a wonderful idea -- here  I stay.



Melody:

D             F#m7 
It's a funny thing -- 

G         C#7 F#m           B7  Em           A7
I look at you,    I get a thrill    I never knew.

D          Bm7  G  D9    A7 Em7 A7sus4   D Fdim  Em7 - G/B - A7sus4 - A7
Isn't it a pity we nev - er met   be - fore?


D              F#m7
Here we are at last --

G            C#7  F#m           B7 Em            A7
It's like a dream,   the two of us    a perfect team.

D          Bm7  G  D9    A7 Em7 A7sus4   D   Em7
Isn't it a pity we nev - er met   be - fore?



Bridge 1:

 F#m    C#7 Bm  F#m     Bm7         C#7  C#m7-5  Bm7-5
Imagine all the lonely years we've wasted

F#m           F#m7     B7
You with the neighbors, I at silly labors --

A6    F#m     Bm7   E7
What joys un-tas - ted,

D9          D6/9  Bm7-5            A7
You reading Heine, me somewhere in China.


D                F#m7
Let's forget the past; 

G           C#7  F#m              B7 Em                A7
Let's both agree     that I'm for you   and you're for me

D               Bm7     G      D9    Em7 A7sus4   D
And it's such a pity we never, never met   be - fore.



Bridge 2:

F#m     C#7 Bm  F#m     Bm7         C#7   C#m7-5  Bm7-5
Imagine all the lonely year's we've wasted,

F#m           F#m7    B7
Fishing for salmon, losing at backgammon.

A6    F#m     Bm7   E7
What joys un-tas - ted,

D9            D6/9  Bm7-5             A7
My nights were sour spent with Schopenhauer.


D                F#m7
Let's forget the past; 

G           C#7  F#m              B7 Em                A7
Let's both agree     that I'm for you   and you're for me

D               Bm7     G      D9    Em7 A7sus4   D
And it's such a pity we never, never met   be - fore.


*This chart is a synthesis of at least two different versions -- the Torme/Laine version cited, and a much more recent take by Stacy Kent -- yet isn't a particularly close copy of either. Thanks to recent visitor Martyn Stanley both for the suggestion, and for the audio source that started this chart.


 
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.