American Storm by Bob Seger

Overview

Key: A major · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Transition → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus ×2 → Bridge → Interlude

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). This page shows that transcription as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

Intro

• E – A – Bsus4 – B (×2)
  V – I – IIsus4 – II

Transition

• E
  V

Verse 1

• E – A – Bsus4 – B (×4)
  V – I – IIsus4 – II

Pre-Chorus 1

• A – E – E7 – A – Bsus4 – B
  I – V – V7 – I – IIsus4 – II

Chorus 1

• E – C♯m – A – Bsus4 – B (×2)
  V – iii – I – IIsus4 – II

Interlude 1

• E – A – Bsus4 – B (×2)
  V – I – IIsus4 – II

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge

• C – Am
  bIII – i

Interlude 2

• E – A – Bsus4 – B (×9)
  V – I – IIsus4 – II
• E
  V

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• C (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• Am (i) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• B acts as V/V: it resolves to E.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1277, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: only one expert transcription of this song is available so far.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.