I Can Help by Billy Swan

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 10 · Sections: 14

Form: Intro → Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Verse → Chorus → Solo → Bridge → Verse → Chorus → Outro

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 1

• Gaug7
  V+7

Intro 2

• C – G – C
  I – V – I

Verse 1

• C – F – C
  I – IV – I

Chorus 1

• G – B♭ – F – G – C
  V – bVII – IV – V – I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 1

• F – G – C – C7 – F – D7 – G7 – Gaug7
  IV – V – I – I7 – IV – II7 – V7 – V+7

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Solo

• C – G – C
  I – V – I

Bridge 2

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Verse 4

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Outro

• C – G – C – C/E – F – D/F♯ – G – C
  I – V – I – I⁶ – IV – II⁶ – V – I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Gaug7 (V+7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭ (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• C7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to F.
• D7 acts as V/V: it resolves to G7.
• D/F♯ acts as V/V: it resolves to G.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0601, 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.