Long Train Runnin' by The Doobie Brothers

Overview

Key: G minor · Chords used: 6 · Sections: 10

Form: Intro → Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → B Section → D Section → Vamp → Vamp

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

Intro 1

• Gm7
  i7

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

A Section 1

• Gm7 – Cm7 – Gm7 – E♭ – D7sus4 – D7 – Gm7
  i7 – iv7 – i7 – bVI – V7sus4 – V7 – i7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 1

• Gm7 – Gm (×3)
  i7 – i
• Gm7 – Cm7 – Gm7 – E♭ – D7sus4 – D7 – Gm7
  i7 – iv7 – i7 – bVI – V7sus4 – V7 – i7

C Section

• Gm7 – Cm7 – Gm7 – E♭ – D7sus4 – D7 – Gm7
  i7 – iv7 – i7 – bVI – V7sus4 – V7 – i7

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

D Section

• Gm7 – Cm7 – Gm7 – E♭ – D7sus4 – D7 – Cm7 – Gm7
  i7 – iv7 – i7 – bVI – V7sus4 – V7 – iv7 – i7

Vamp 1

• Gm7
  i7

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Gm7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section, Vamp
Cm7	iv7	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section
E♭	bVI	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section
D7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section
D7	V7	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section, D Section
Gm	i	Home chord (tonic)	B Section

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Long Train Runnin'” (credited “Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston)”, style Funk Rock) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.
• 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 “Long Train Runnin'” (credited “Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston)”, style Rock) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).
• 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.
• 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.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.