I Can't Drive 55 by Sammy Hagar

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 5 · Sections: 10

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

Interlude 1

• E5 – A5 – E5 – G5 – A5 (×2)
  I5 – IV5 – I5 – bIII5 – IV5
• E5
  I5

Verse 1

• E5 – G5 – A5 – G5 – A5 (×2)
  I5 – bIII5 – IV5 – bIII5 – IV5
• E5 – G5 – A5 – B5
  I5 – bIII5 – IV5 – V5

Chorus 1

• A5 – E5 – A5 – B5
  IV5 – I5 – IV5 – V5

Interlude 2

Same chords as Interlude 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge

• E5 – A5
  I5 – IV5
• E5 – D5 (×4)
  I5 – bVII5
• E5 – G5 (×2)
  I5 – bIII5
• E5 – D5 – E5
  I5 – bVII5 – I5

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Outro

• E5 – A5 – E5 – G5 – A5 (×5)
  I5 – IV5 – I5 – bIII5 – IV5

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• G5 (bIII5) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D5 (bVII5) 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 0353, 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.