I Just Can't Stop Loving You by Michael Jackson

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 27 · Sections: 14

Form: Intro → Intro → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Interlude → Bridge → 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.

Key changes

• Bridge moves to D♭ major.

Section by section

Intro 1

• C5 – C9sus4 – C5 – C7(no3) – C6(no3) – C5
  I5 – I9sus4 – I5 – I7(no3) – I6(no3) – I5

Intro 2

• C5
  I5

Verse 1

• Cadd9 – Gm7 (×2)
  Iadd9 – v7

Pre-Chorus 1

• Fmaj9 – Fm – Am – B♭add9 – E♭maj9 – G11
  IVmaj9 – iv – vi – bVIIadd9 – bIIImaj9 – V11

Verse 2

• Cadd9 – Gm7 – Cadd9 – Gm7/C
  Iadd9 – v7 – Iadd9 – v7 (bass C)

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 1

• Gm7 – C (×2)
  v7 – I
• Gm7 – Fm7 – E♭maj7 – G11
  v7 – iv7 – bIIImaj7 – V11

Interlude 1

• C5 – Csus4 – C
  I5 – Isus4 – I

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 2.

Pre-Chorus 3

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Interlude 2

• C
  I

Bridge

• B♭11 – E♭maj7 – D♭11 – G♭maj7 – B11 – Emaj7 – A♭m7 – D♭
  VI11 – IImaj7 – I11 – IVmaj7 – #VI11 – #IImaj7 – v7 – I

Chorus 3

• A♭m7 – D♭ – A♭m7 – D♭ – A♭m7 – G♭m7 – F♭maj7 – A♭11 (×2)
  v7 – I – v7 – I – v7 – iv7 – bIIImaj7 – V11
• A♭m7 – D♭
  v7 – I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• C9sus4 (I9sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• C7(no3) (I7(no3)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Gm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm (iv) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭add9 (bVIIadd9) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• E♭maj9 (bIIImaj9) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Gm7/C (v7 (bass C)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• E♭maj7 (bIIImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B11 (#VI11) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• Emaj7 (#IImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• A♭m7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• G♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• F♭maj7 (bIIImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, D♭ minor.
• D♭11 acts as V/IV: it resolves to G♭maj7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0085, 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.