Running on Empty by Jackson Browne

Overview

Key: A major · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 13

Form: Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Solo → Bridge → Bridge → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Outro → 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

Intro

• D/A – A (×3)
  IV⁶₄ – I
• F♯m – D – A/C♯ – E
  vi – IV – I⁶ – V

Verse 1

• D/A – A (×6)
  IV⁶₄ – I
• D – A/C♯ – E
  IV – I⁶ – V

Chorus 1

• D/A – A (×3)
  IV⁶₄ – I
• F♯m
  vi

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Solo

• D/A – A (×3)
  IV⁶₄ – I
• F♯m – D – A/C♯ – E
  vi – IV – I⁶ – V

Bridge 1

• F♯m – D – E – A – F♯m – E – D – A – F♯m – D – E – A
  vi – IV – V – I – vi – V – IV – I – vi – IV – V – I

Bridge 2

• D – E – D – A/C♯ – Bm – A – F♯m – F♯m/E
  IV – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – I – vi – vi (bass E)

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 4

• D/A – A (×2)
  IV⁶₄ – I

Outro 1

• D – E – D – A/C♯ – Bm – A – F♯m – F♯m/E (×2)
  IV – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – I – vi – vi (bass E)
• D – E – D – A/C♯ – Bm – A
  IV – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – I

Outro 2

• D/A – A (×14)
  IV⁶₄ – I
• D – E – D – A/C♯ – Bm – A
  IV – V – IV – I⁶ – ii – I

Chord vocabulary

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1155, 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.