Brandy by Looking Glass

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 13 · Sections: 9

Form: Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Verse → Chorus → 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

• C♯m – A (×2)
  vi – IV
• E/B – B – A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B9sus4
  I⁶₄ – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – V9sus4

Verse 1

• E – E/G♯ – A – C♯m – F♯m – A – D
  I – I⁶ – IV – vi – ii – IV – bVII
• A – E – E/G♯ – A – C♯m – F♯m (×2)
  IV – I – I⁶ – IV – vi – ii
• A – D – A – E – E/G♯ – A – C♯m – F♯m – A – E
  IV – bVII – IV – I – I⁶ – IV – vi – ii – IV – I

Chorus 1

• C♯m – A (×2)
  vi – IV
• E/B – B – A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B9sus4
  I⁶₄ – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – V9sus4

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge

• C♯m – C♯m/B – Amaj7 – C♯m/B (×2)
  vi – vi (bass B) – IVmaj7 – vi (bass B)
• C♯m – Dmaj7 – C♯m7 – A – E/B – B – A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B9sus4
  vi – bVIImaj7 – vi7 – IV – I⁶₄ – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – V9sus4

Verse 3

• E – E/G♯ – A – C♯m – F♯m – A – D – A – E – E/G♯ – A – C♯m – F♯m – A – E
  I – I⁶ – IV – vi – ii – IV – bVII – IV – I – I⁶ – IV – vi – ii – IV – I

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

• C♯m – A (×2)
  vi – IV
• E/B – B – A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B9sus4 – C♯m
  I⁶₄ – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – V9sus4 – vi

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• D (bVII) 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 0128, 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.