Oh Father by Madonna

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 15 · Sections: 10

Form: Intro → Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Interlude → Bridge → Verse → 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

Intro 1

• F – F7/E♭
  I – I⁴₂

Intro 2

• E♭ – B♭/F – F – C – B♭ – C/B♭ – Am – Gsus2 – G (×2)
  bVII – IV⁶₄ – I – V – IV – V (bass B♭) – iii – IIsus2 – II
• F – C
  I – V

Verse 1

• B♭ – Dm7 – F – C – E♭ – B♭ – F – C – Dm – B♭/D – C – F/C
  IV – vi7 – I – V – bVII – IV – I – V – vi – IV⁶ – V – I⁶₄

Chorus 1

• E♭ – B♭/F – F – C – B♭ – C/B♭ – Am – G (×2)
  bVII – IV⁶₄ – I – V – IV – V (bass B♭) – iii – II
• F – C
  I – V

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

• E♭ – B♭/F – F – C – B♭ – C/B♭ – Am – G (×2)
  bVII – IV⁶₄ – I – V – IV – V (bass B♭) – iii – II

Interlude

• Am – G – C – G – Em – F – C (×2)
  iii – II – V – II – vii – I – V

Bridge

• Am – G – C – G – Em – F – C (×2)
  iii – II – V – II – vii – I – V
• F – C
  I – V

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

• E♭ – B♭/F – F – C – B♭ – C/B♭ – Am – G (×5)
  bVII – IV⁶₄ – I – V – IV – V (bass B♭) – iii – II
• E♭ – B♭/F – F – C
  bVII – IV⁶₄ – I – V

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• E♭ (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• G acts as V/V: it resolves to C.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1140, 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.