Stand by Me by David Ruffin & Jimmy Ruffin

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 8

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

• G
  I

Verse 1

• G – Em – C – D (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V
• G
  I

Chorus 1

• G – Em – C – D – G
  I – vi – IV – V – I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Interlude

• G – Em – C – D (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V
• G
  I

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Outro

• G – Em – C – D (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V
• G
  I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• The Verse 1 loops G – Em – C – D (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 0119, 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.