Seven Days by Sting

Overview

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

Form: A Section → A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → B Section

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart 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

A Section 1

• C69
  I69

A Section 2

• C69 – E♭69 – B♭69 – G – F – Fadd9 – C69 – E♭69 – B♭69 – G – E
  I69 – bIII69 – bVII69 – V – IV – IVadd9 – I69 – bIII69 – bVII69 – V – III

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

B Section 1

• Fmaj7 – F♯m7♭5 – G – E7/G♯ – Am7 – Fmaj7 – G – E7/G♯
  IVmaj7 – #ivø7 – V – III⁶₅ – vi7 – IVmaj7 – V – III⁶₅
• Am7 – B♭7 (×2)
  vi7 – bVII7
• Am7 – Fm – C69
  vi7 – iv – I69

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 2.

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

C Section

• B♭7 – C69 (×2)
  bVII7 – I69
• B♭7 – Fmaj7
  bVII7 – IVmaj7
• B♭7 – C69 (×2)
  bVII7 – I69

B Section 3

• Fmaj7 – F♯m7♭5 – G – E7/G♯ – Am7 – Fmaj7 – G – E7/G♯
  IVmaj7 – #ivø7 – V – III⁶₅ – vi7 – IVmaj7 – V – III⁶₅
• Am7 – B♭7 (×2)
  vi7 – bVII7
• Am7 – Fm
  vi7 – iv
• C69 – B♭7 (×2)
  I69 – bVII7
• C69
  I69

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
C69	I69	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section, C Section
E♭69	bIII69	Borrowed from C minor	A Section
B♭69	bVII69	Borrowed from C minor	A Section
G	V	In the key	A Section, B Section
F	IV	In the key	A Section
Fadd9	IVadd9	In the key	A Section
E	III	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Fmaj7	IVmaj7	In the key	B Section, C Section
F♯m7♭5	#ivø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
E7/G♯	III⁶₅	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	B Section
Am7	vi7	In the key	B Section
B♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from C minor	B Section, C Section
Fm	iv	Borrowed from C minor	B Section

Harmonic highlights

• E♭69 (bIII69) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭69 (bVII69) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm (iv) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• E7/G♯ acts as V/vi: it resolves to Am7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Seven Days” (credited “Sting”, style Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Seven Days” (credited “Sting (Gordon Sumner)”, style Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 87%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.