Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Verse → Interlude → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Verse → Chorus ×3

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. 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

• F – B♭ – F – B♭/C (×2)
  I – IV – I – IV (bass C)

Verse 1

• F – B♭ – F – B♭/C (×4)
  I – IV – I – IV (bass C)

Interlude

• F – B♭ – F – C
  I – IV – I – V

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 1

• F – B♭ – F – C (×4)
  I – IV – I – V

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge

• F – B♭ – F – C (×4)
  I – IV – I – V

Verse 4

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chord vocabulary

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
• Cross-check: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David Temperley. Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 90% of the song.
• Not verified: the two RS 200 analysts differ in places (see their agreement above).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.