Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 12 · Sections: 6

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

• C – F/C – Gadd11/C – F/C (×2)
  I – IV⁶₄ – Vadd11 (bass C) – IV⁶₄

Verse 1

• C – F (×6)
  I – IV
• G – C/G – C – C/G
  V – I⁶₄ – I – I⁶₄
• F – Gm/C (×3)
  IV – v (bass C)
• F – C – F/C – C – G – F – C – F – F♯dim – Dm7/G – G – F – G
  IV – I – IV⁶₄ – I – V – IV – I – IV – #iv° – ii7 (bass G) – V – IV – V

Chorus 1

• C – F – C – Cmaj7 – C6 – Gsus4 – G – F – G – C – F – C – Cmaj7 – C6
  I – IV – I – Imaj7 – I6 – Vsus4 – V – IV – V – I – IV – I – Imaj7 – I6
• G – F (×2)
  V – IV
• G
  V

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

• C – F – C – Cmaj7 – C6 – Gsus4 – G – F – G – C – F – C – Cmaj7 – C6 – G – F – Gsus4 – G – F – G
  I – IV – I – Imaj7 – I6 – Vsus4 – V – IV – V – I – IV – I – Imaj7 – I6 – V – IV – Vsus4 – V – IV – V

Chorus 3

• C – F – C – Cmaj7 – C6 – Gsus4 – G – F – G (×2)
  I – IV – I – Imaj7 – I6 – Vsus4 – V – IV – V

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Gm/C (v (bass C)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0246, 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.