Nowhere to Run by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Overview

Key: A♭ major · Chords used: 5 · Sections: 13

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

Section by section

Chorus 1

• A♭ – G♭/D♭ – D♭ (×4)
  I – bVII⁶₄ – IV

Verse 1

• A♭ – G♭/D♭ – D♭ (×4)
  I – bVII⁶₄ – IV

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 1

• B♭7 – E♭7
  II7 – V7

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 1

• A♭ – G♭/D♭ – D♭ (×2)
  I – bVII⁶₄ – IV

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 2

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 3

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Chorus 5

• A♭ – G♭/D♭ – D♭ (×6)
  I – bVII⁶₄ – IV

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• G♭/D♭ (bVII⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, A♭ minor.
• B♭7 acts as V/V: it resolves to E♭7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0074, 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.