Runaround Sue by Dion

Overview

Key: D major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 9

Form: Intro → Chorus → Chorus → Chorus → Bridge → Chorus → Bridge → Chorus ×2

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

• D – Bm – G – A
  I – vi – IV – V

Chorus 1

• D – Bm – G – A (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

• D – Bm – G – A
  I – vi – IV – V

Bridge 1

• G – D – G – A
  IV – I – IV – V

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 2

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 3.

Chorus 6

Same chords as Chorus 3.

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• The Chorus 1 loops D – Bm – G – A (I – vi – IV – V), a rotation of the ’50s progression (I–vi–IV–V family).

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0145, 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.