Detroit City by Bobby Bare

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 6 · Sections: 8

Form: Intro → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Verse → 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

• E
  I

Chorus 1

• E – E7 – A – E – B – E
  I – I7 – IV – I – V – I

Verse 1

• E – B (×2)
  I – V
• E – E7 – A – E – F♯ – B
  I – I7 – IV – I – II – V

Chorus 2

• E – E7 – A – E – B
  I – I7 – IV – I – V

Interlude

• B
  V

Verse 2

• B – F♯ (×2)
  V – II
• B – E – B – C♯ – F♯
  V – I – V – VI – II

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 2.

Chorus 3

• B – E – B – F♯ – E
  V – I – V – II – I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• E7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to A.
• F♯ acts as V/V: it resolves to B.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0133, 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.