Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel

Overview

Key: A major · Chords used: 11 · Sections: 13

Form: Intro → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → 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

Intro

• F♯5
  VI5

Verse 1

• F♯5 – B7 – E – A – D – D/C♯ – Bm – F♯7 – E7
  VI5 – II7 – V – I – IV – IV (bass C♯) – ii – VI7 – V7

Chorus 1

• A – F♯m (×2)
  I – vi
• D – E
  IV – V
• A – F♯m (×2)
  I – vi
• D – Bm
  IV – ii

Transition 1

• F♯5
  VI5

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 2

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 3

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 4

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Outro

• F♯5 – C♯7/F♯ – F♯5
  VI5 – III7 (bass F♯) – VI5

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• B7 acts as V/V: it resolves to E.
• C♯7/F♯ acts as V/VI: it resolves to F♯5.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0616, 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.