Sex Bomb by Tom Jones

Overview

Key: G♯ minor · Chords used: 13 · Sections: 10

Form: Intro → Verse → A Section → A Section ×2 → B Section → A Section → Interlude → Chorus → Outro

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

Intro

• A♭m7 – A♭mmaj7 – A♭m – A♭mmaj7 (×3)
  i7 – imaj7 – i – imaj7
• A♭m7 – A♭mmaj7
  i7 – imaj7

Verse

• A♭m – E♭7
  i – V7

A Section 1

• A♭m – D♭m7 – A♭m – E♭7 (×2)
  i – iv7 – i – V7
• A♭m
  i

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section

• A♭m7 – A♭mmaj7 – A♭m – A♭mmaj7 – A♭m7 – A♭mmaj7
  i7 – imaj7 – i – imaj7 – i7 – imaj7

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 1.

Interlude

• A♭m – D♭m – A♭m – E♭7 (×6)
  i – iv – i – V7
• A♭m – E♭7 – A♭m – D♭m7 (×2)
  i – V7 – i – iv7
• A♭m – E♭7
  i – V7

Chorus

• A♭m – A – B♭ – Gaug7 – Cm – Fm7 – Cm – G7 – Cm – Fm7 – Cm – G
  i – bII – II – bI+7 – biv – vi7 – biv – bI7 – biv – vi7 – biv – bI

Outro

• Cm – G (×8)
  biv – bI
• Cm
  biv

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
A♭m7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section
A♭mmaj7	imaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, B Section
A♭m	i	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, Verse, A Section, B Section, Interlude, Chorus
E♭7	V7	In the key	Verse, A Section, Interlude
D♭m7	iv7	In the key	A Section, Interlude
D♭m	iv	In the key	Interlude
A	bII	Outside the key (chromatic)	Chorus
B♭	II	Outside the key (chromatic)	Chorus
Gaug7	bI+7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Chorus
Cm	biv	Borrowed from G♯ major	Chorus, Outro
Fm7	vi7	Borrowed from G♯ major	Chorus
G7	bI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Chorus
G	bI	Outside the key (chromatic)	Chorus, Outro

Harmonic highlights

• Cm (biv) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♯ major.
• Fm7 (vi7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♯ major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Sex Bomb” (credited “Jones Tom”, style pop rock) 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 “Sex Bomb (Gig)” (credited “Jones Tom”, style Disco) 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 76%).
• 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.