Alone Together

"Alone Together" is a song composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz, introduced in the 1932 Broadway musical revue Flying Colors at the Imperial Theater. Jean Sargent sang it in the original production while Clifton Webb and Tamara Geva danced. The composition stands out for its unusual structure — the A sections are 14 bars long rather than the conventional 8, giving the melody more room to develop than most popular songs of the era. Written primarily in D minor, the harmony moves through the minor tonality but repeatedly resolves to major, creating an ambiguity that mirrors the lyric's central paradox of two people who are strong only together. The melody is built from just the first five notes of the minor scale, making it deceptively simple and singable despite the sophisticated harmonic movement underneath. Jazz musicians have long been drawn to the tune's rich chord progression and have added countless reharmonizations and substitutions over the decades. With more than 530 documented recordings, it has become one of the most frequently performed jazz standards, interpreted by artists from Artie Shaw and Billie Holiday to Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, and Chet Baker. The tune works equally well as a vocal ballad and an up-tempo instrumental vehicle, and its unusual form length continues to offer improvisers a structure that feels fresh compared to the more common 32-bar standards.