People Got to Be Free by The Rascals

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 7 · Sections: 12

Form: Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Bridge → Chorus → Transition → 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

Chorus 1

• B♭ – F – C – F (×3)
  IV – I – V – I
• B♭ – F – C
  IV – I – V

Transition 1

• F – C (×2)
  I – V

Verse 1

• F – C – Dm – Am – B♭ (×2)
  I – V – vi – iii – IV
• F
  I

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 2

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 3

Same chords as Transition 1.

Bridge

• F – A♭ – D♭ – C
  I – bIII – bVI – V

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 4

Same chords as Transition 1.

Outro

• F – C (×7)
  I – V

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• A♭ (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• D♭ (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0191, 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.