They Can't Take That Away from Me: SAB Choral Octavo

Mark Hayes's arrangement respects every note Gershwin wrote while making the piece genuinely singable for SAB choirs. The voice leading is clean and purposeful; nobody gets stuck on a narrow range or asked to sustain thankless harmony. This is the kind of standard that sounds fresh every time you program it, partly because audiences never tire of it and partly because your singers will enjoy the sophisticated-but-not-showy character of the writing.

Elegant and intimate, like overhearing someone sing to themselves while thinking of a person they adore. The unhurried swing feel creates space for the text to land; there's no breathless rush here, just the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly what they value and won't apologize for it.

SAB choirs at the intermediate to advanced level who want to add a sophisticated jazz standard to their repertoire without sacrificing musical or technical substance. It works equally well for high school ensembles ready for this level of stylistic nuance and community or adult choirs seeking material with real harmonic interest and emotional maturity.

• Let the swing feel breathe. The tempo should feel unhurried, which means resisting the urge to push. A slightly behind-the-beat placement in the rhythm section will anchor the style better than rushing.
• Shape the melody with the natural phrasing of speech. Gershwin's lyric 'the way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea' should land with conversational ease, not operatic weight.
• Balance the altos and tenors carefully in the inner voices. Hayes writes supportive lines that shouldn't disappear, but they also shouldn't compete with the soprano melody or the text clarity.
• If you're using the recorded accompaniment, rehearse without it first so your singers own the phrasing. Then layer the recording in once the singing is secure.

This pairs beautifully on a concert of American standards or a program built around the Great American Songbook. It also works as a sophisticated opener or a gentle closer, depending on what you're programming around it. Consider pairing it with other Gershwin arrangements or other standards from the same era to let your singers and audience settle into that particular musical world.

• Swung rhythms and jazz articulation
• Phrasing lyrical material with conversational naturalness
• Voice leading in close harmony (SAB ranges)
• Balancing melody and inner-voice counterpoint
• Singing with stylistic ownership in a non-classical idiom