(I Was) Born to Cry by Dion
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 16 steps · 3 unique chords · 1960s
Am
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: A minor · Chords used: 3 · Sections: 9
Form: Intro → Verse → Verse → Chorus → Verse ×2 → Chorus → Solo → 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
- Am – Dm – Am – E7
i – iv – i – V7
Verse 1
- Am – Dm – Am
i – iv – i
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 1
- Am – Dm (×3)
i – iv - E7
V7
Verse 3
Same chords as Verse 1.
Verse 4
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 2
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Solo
- Am – Dm – Am
i – iv – i
Outro
- Am – Dm – Am
i – iv – i
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am | i | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Outro |
| Dm | iv | In the key | Intro, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Outro |
| E7 | V7 | In the key | Intro, Chorus |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1101, 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.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the expert transcription listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011)Expert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1101, CC0), via ChoCo.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | Am | A2, E3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 2 | Intro | Dm | D2, A2 | D4, F4, A4 | — |
| 3 | Intro | Am | A2, E3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 4 | Intro | E7 | E2, B2 | B3, D4, G♯4 | — |
| 5 | Verse 1 | Am | A2, E3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 6 | Verse 1 | Dm | D2, A2 | D4, F4, A4 | — |
| 7 | Verse 1 | Am | A2, E3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 8 | Chorus 1, part 1 (×3) | Am | A2, E3 | C4, E4, A4 | — |
| 9 | Chorus 1, part 1 (×3) | Dm | D2, A2 | D4, F4, A4 | — |
| 10 | Chorus 1, part 2 | E7 | E2, B2 | D4, G♯4, B4 | — |
| 11 | Solo | Am | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C5 | — |
| 12 | Solo | Dm | D2, A2 | F4, A4, D5 | — |
| 13 | Solo | Am | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C5 | — |
| 14 | Outro | Am | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C5 | — |
| 15 | Outro | Dm | D2, A2 | F4, A4, D5 | — |
| 16 | Outro | Am | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C5 | — |