Can't Hide Love by Earth, Wind & Fire

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 17 · Sections: 21

Form: Intro → Intro → A Section → A Section ×2 → B Section → B Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → C Section → D Section → Vamp → D Section → Vamp → D Section → Vamp → D Section → Vamp → D Section → Vamp

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart 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 1

• F9sus4 – F9 (×2)
  I9sus4 – I9

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

A Section 1

• F9sus4 – F13 – B♭m7 – Gm11 – C7♯9 – F9sus4
  I9sus4 – I13 – iv7 – ii11 – V7#9 – I9sus4

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 1

• B♭m7 – Cm7 – D♭maj9 – Gm7 – C7♯9 – F9sus4
  iv7 – v7 – bVImaj9 – ii7 – V7#9 – I9sus4

B Section 2

• B♭m7 – Cm7 – D♭maj9 – Dm7♭5 – D♭maj9 – Cm7 – B♭m9
  iv7 – v7 – bVImaj9 – viø7 – bVImaj9 – v7 – iv9

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 3

Same chords as B Section 2.

C Section 1

• F9sus4 – E9sus4 – E♭9sus4 – E9sus4 (×2)
  I9sus4 – VII9sus4 – bVII9sus4 – VII9sus4

C Section 2

Same chords as C Section 1.

D Section 1

• F9sus4 – E9sus4 – E♭9sus4 – D9sus4 – D♭9sus4 – C9sus4
  I9sus4 – VII9sus4 – bVII9sus4 – VI9sus4 – bVI9sus4 – V9sus4

Vamp 1

• B9sus4
  #IV9sus4

D Section 2

Same chords as D Section 1.

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

D Section 3

Same chords as D Section 1.

Vamp 3

Same chords as Vamp 1.

D Section 4

Same chords as D Section 1.

Vamp 4

Same chords as Vamp 1.

D Section 5

Same chords as D Section 1.

Vamp 5

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
F9sus4	I9sus4	Borrowed from F minor	Intro, A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section
F9	I9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro
F13	I13	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭m7	iv7	Borrowed from F minor	A Section, B Section
Gm11	ii11	In the key	A Section
C7♯9	V7#9	Borrowed from F minor	A Section, B Section
Cm7	v7	Borrowed from F minor	B Section
D♭maj9	bVImaj9	Borrowed from F minor	B Section
Gm7	ii7	In the key	B Section
Dm7♭5	viø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
B♭m9	iv9	Borrowed from F minor	B Section
E9sus4	VII9sus4	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section, D Section
E♭9sus4	bVII9sus4	Borrowed from F minor	C Section, D Section
D9sus4	VI9sus4	In the key	D Section
D♭9sus4	bVI9sus4	Outside the key (chromatic)	D Section
C9sus4	V9sus4	In the key	D Section
B9sus4	#IV9sus4	Outside the key (chromatic)	Vamp

Harmonic highlights

• F9sus4 (I9sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• C7♯9 (V7#9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• Cm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• D♭maj9 (bVImaj9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m9 (iv9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭9sus4 (bVII9sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Can't Hide Love” (credited “Skip Scarborough (Earth, Wind & Fire)”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Can't Hide Love” (credited “Skip Scarborough (Earth, Wind & Fire)”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• 4 chords were simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.