Joe Brown – I’ll See You in My Dreams (Chords)

Joe Brown – I’ll See You in My Dreams (Chords)

I’ve been decidedly tardy putting up this 1920s song by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn. It was meant to go up about 7 years ago. But it’s here at last.

The song has been recorded by a huge number of people including Ukulele Ike. But it became an instant ukulele classic when Joe Brown played it at the Concert for George Harrison. And it’s his version I’ve written up.

I’ve tried to capture all the nuances of the arrangement. Which has resulted in 26 chords. Equaling So Long and Thanks for All the Fish as song with most chords. So I’ve also written up a simplified version.

Simplified Version

I’ll See You in My Dreams (Simplified Chords)

26 chords is a lot to get your head around in one go. So I’d recommend having a play through this version first so you know what’s going on. Then you can introduce elements from the full version as you see fit.

For this version I’ve also simplified the F – F6 – Fmaj7 move to F – Dm – Am to make it easier to play.

Twiddly Bits

There’s a few little ukulele licks in the song. Here’s the line that leads into the solo:

SoloStart

The solo itself uses notes mainly picked from the chords. With this to end it off:

SoloEnd

And the lick right at the end:

SeeYouInMyDreamsEnd

Links

Buy the Joe Brown version
Buy the Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards version

View Comments

30 Comments

  1. John September 10th, 2014 9:25 am

    That’s a wonderful piece of music.
    And all the musicians who attended the celebration for George. Mindboggling.

  2. John September 10th, 2014 9:33 am

    In addition, thanks very much for the simplified version. Something I can definitely sink my teeth into.

  3. John Dyhouse September 10th, 2014 9:34 am

    Wonderful song, this is what turned me on to the uke after I saw Joe Brown performing it. I have seen other transcriptions but this beats those others. THanks very much.

  4. Woodshed September 10th, 2014 10:16 am

    John: Thanks! Happy playing.

    John Dyhouse: Thanks very much! Glad you like it.

  5. tooney September 10th, 2014 11:50 am

    Great choice. Thank you. This is the first real song I tried when I first started playing. I’ve been working on the Joe Brown version and I can’t wait to give yours a go. Another song to work on for 4 years! :) (See how many times you hear this tune played in an old movie, once you recognize the lovely tune by Gus Kahn.)

  6. Woodshed September 11th, 2014 11:46 am

    tooney: Thanks! Hope you like the arrangement.

  7. Stewart Greenhill September 11th, 2014 11:16 pm

    Another great song (and possibly better known) by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn is “It Had To Be You” (1924), which appears in a number of movies, including “Casablanca”, “Annie Hall”, and “When Harry Met Sally”. Makes quite a nice a nice companion for “I’ll See You In My Dreams”.

    It also has fiendishly many chords, but is not too hard to play in the key of G:
    http://stewartgreenhill.com/ukulele/ItHadToBeYou.html

  8. Woodshed September 12th, 2014 8:11 am

    Stewart: Excellent! Thanks.

  9. Mike September 21st, 2014 5:21 am

    Thank you for that, first time I heard it was same as you. The GH tribute also by Joe Brown. I’m working on being vocal whilst playing the tune and this one lends itself very well to that, and it’s sweet too!

    Muchas gashos

  10. Woodshed September 21st, 2014 8:55 am

    Mike: You’re welcome!

  11. glynn November 1st, 2014 9:33 am

    after hearing Joe Brown sing and play I`ll see you in my dreams this is a beautiful song . and for some time I have wanted to learn to play a ukulele . if I only played this song I would be very very happy

  12. Woodshed November 1st, 2014 11:24 am

    glynn: I hope the learning goes well.

  13. rize81 November 8th, 2014 12:53 pm

    Awesome song! I gonna learn how to play it.

  14. Woodshed November 8th, 2014 8:38 pm

    rize81: Happy learning!

  15. Stewart Greenhill November 14th, 2014 10:34 pm

    Here is a slightly different arrangement I did for a group to play at a friend’s funeral. There are fewer chords than the “full” version here, but I think the sound is more true than the “simplified” version. I kept the “walking bass” bit in the verse, and used the same pattern for the line “Hold you in my dreams”, replacing the E chord with the now familiar FM7. Substituting Bm6 and Bbm6 for Bb and Bbm means that you can play the whole thing without barre chords.

    Here is an interactive song-sheet for the arrangement. Click play on the video, and the chords will highlight for you to play along. Click any chord to jump to that spot in the song.

    http://stewartgreenhill.com/ukulele/IllSeeYouInMyDreams.html

  16. Stewart Greenhill November 14th, 2014 11:21 pm

    Ooops, I meant use Bb6 for Bb, and Bbm6 for Bbm. Sometimes these three finger chords can be used to avoid a barre chord. Doesn’t always work, but I think its fine for this song.

  17. Woodshed November 15th, 2014 10:30 am

    Stewart: Thanks! Cool stuff.

  18. Alex February 16th, 2015 5:42 pm

    This is great I have just started the Ukekele at the ripe old age 84 and love. Loved your playing in years gone by and still think you are great. I am involved with the Bucky Donts in Bridport a great group putting on a Ukelele Opera just getting it together.

  19. Simon August 14th, 2015 7:00 pm

    Thanks for this great arrangement. One minor point I might suggest is the A chord at end of the bridge sounds a little better with an Edim instead.

    Cheers!

  20. Woodshed August 14th, 2015 7:47 pm

    Simon: Thanks for the suggestion!

  21. flemming persson January 3rd, 2016 2:34 am

    I’m a totally beginner…what is the tuning?
    from top string to bottom string, please

  22. Woodshed January 4th, 2016 7:28 pm

    flemming: Standard tuning gCEA.

  23. Jim S. January 5th, 2016 10:28 pm

    I’ve watched the concert for George many times, and enjoy it more each time. Eric Clapton, Joe Brown, and all of the artists gave us a wonderful experience.
    I’m another one new to the ukulele; in early 2016. Thanks for the chords and the clip. I haven’t set any goals, but if I ever do, the top one would be having friends say ‘That sounds vaguely like Joe Brown’. I know, ‘very’ vaguely.

  24. A. P. Krohn March 4th, 2016 7:55 am

    Hello!
    Thanks for the great work!
    Last line in Chorus 1, Still I feel the…
    Chord pattern Dm-Dsus2-Dm is an interesting choice.
    Mr. Brown seems to play chords G7-G7sus2-G7 according to circle fifths, bass plays from G too.

  25. Woodshed March 4th, 2016 2:40 pm

    A. P. Krohn: Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll check it out.

  26. Andreas April 18th, 2016 8:21 pm

    The more often I play this the more strongly I feel that the bent note in the second part of twiddly bits ought to be from the 2nd fret. (starting from D rather than from D#).
    Correct me if I am wrong.
    Please!

  27. Woodshed April 19th, 2016 9:14 pm

    Andreas: That seems reasonable.

  28. Carole August 14th, 2016 8:18 pm

    I am a beginner – just a couple of months since I first paired with my ukulele – and want to move up from “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to something I actually want to master. I started working on this piece and realized there’s no guidance re: strumming patterns. I’m hoping the proper rhythm will help me become comfortable with the new (to me) chords.
    Thanks!

  29. Woodshed August 14th, 2016 9:40 pm

    Carole: This isn’t a very beginner friendly song, I’m afraid. I’d recommend getting more confident with chords and strumming before you tackle it.

  30. Greg Bayes December 31st, 2016 9:21 pm

    Thank you Joe, thank you very, very much.

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