I'll Never Smile Again by Ruth Lowe

Overview

Key: E♭ major · Chords used: 21 · Sections: 2

Form: A Section → Outro

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart 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

A Section

• Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭ – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭7♭9 – E♭6 – A♭9 – Gm7 – G♭7♭5 – Fm7 – B♭7♭9 – E♭6 – Fm7 – B♭aug7 – E♭ – D9 – G – D7 – G – G♭ – Fm7 – B♭7 – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭ – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – E♭6 – B♭m6 – A7♭5 – A♭ – D♭7 – E♭ – C9 – Fm7 – B♭7♭9 – E♭6 – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭ – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭7♭9 – E♭6 – A♭9 – Gm7 – G♭7♭5 – Fm7 – B♭7♭9 – E♭6 – Fm7 – B♭aug7 – E♭ – D9 – G – D7 – G – G♭ – Fm7 – B♭7 – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭ – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – Gm7 – G♭ – Fm7 – B7♯11 – B♭7♭9 – E♭ – E♭6 – B♭m6 – A7♭5 – A♭ – D♭7 – E♭ – C9 – Fm7 – B♭7♭9
  ii7 – #V7#11 – V – V7b9 – I – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V7b9 – I6 – IV9 – iii7 – bIII7♭5 – ii7 – V7b9 – I6 – ii7 – V+7 – I – VII9 – III – VII7 – III – bIII – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V – V7b9 – I – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V7b9 – I – I6 – v6 – #IV7♭5 – IV – bVII7 – I – VI9 – ii7 – V7b9 – I6 – ii7 – #V7#11 – V – V7b9 – I – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V7b9 – I6 – IV9 – iii7 – bIII7♭5 – ii7 – V7b9 – I6 – ii7 – V+7 – I – VII9 – III – VII7 – III – bIII – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V – V7b9 – I – iii7 – bIII – ii7 – #V7#11 – V7b9 – I – I6 – v6 – #IV7♭5 – IV – bVII7 – I – VI9 – ii7 – V7b9

Outro

• E♭6 – B7 – E♭6
  I6 – #V7 – I6

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fm7	ii7	In the key	A Section
B7♯11	#V7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭	V	In the key	A Section
B♭7♭9	V7b9	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
E♭	I	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Gm7	iii7	In the key	A Section
G♭	bIII	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
E♭6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, Outro
A♭9	IV9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G♭7♭5	bIII7♭5	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭aug7	V+7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
D9	VII9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G	III	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭7	V7	In the key	A Section
B♭m6	v6	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A7♭5	#IV7♭5	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A♭	IV	In the key	A Section
D♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
C9	VI9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
B7	#V7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Outro

Harmonic highlights

• B♭7♭9 (V7b9) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• G♭ (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• B♭aug7 (V+7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• D♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• C9 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Fm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “I'll Never Smile Again 1” (credited “Lowe Ruth”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “I'll Never Smile Again” (credited “Lowe Ruth”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 82%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• 4 chords were simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.