Black Cars by Gino Vannelli

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 16 · Sections: 21

Form: Intro → Pre-Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Pre-Chorus → Bridge → Pre-Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Transition → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Pre-Chorus

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

• E5 – A/E (×2)
  I5 – IV⁶₄

Pre-Chorus 1

• E – A/E – Asus4/E – A/E (×2)
  I – IV⁶₄ – IVsus4 (bass E) – IV⁶₄

Verse 1

• E – A/E – D/E – A/E – E – A/E – C – D – Cmaj7 – D
  I – IV⁶₄ – bVII (bass E) – IV⁶₄ – I – IV⁶₄ – bVI – bVII – bVImaj7 – bVII

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 1

• A7 – G – B
  IV7 – bIII – V

Pre-Chorus 3

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Bridge

• G – A – F♯m – G – C – G/B
  bIII – IV – ii – bIII – bVI – bIII⁶

Pre-Chorus 4

• A – D/A – Dsus4 – D (×4)
  IV – bVII⁶₄ – bVIIsus4 – bVII

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Pre-Chorus 5

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition

• E5 – A/E (×2)
  I5 – IV⁶₄

Pre-Chorus 6

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

• C – D
  bVI – bVII

Pre-Chorus 7

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 4.

Pre-Chorus 8

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 6

Same chords as Chorus 4.

Pre-Chorus 9

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Asus4/E (IVsus4 (bass E)) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D/E (bVII (bass E)) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• C (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Cmaj7 (bVImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G/B (bIII⁶) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D/A (bVII⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Dsus4 (bVIIsus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0068, 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.