Sunshine Superman by Donovan
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 13 steps · 3 unique chords · 1960s
D♭7
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: D♭ major · Chords used: 3 · Sections: 13
Form: Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus ×2 → Solo → Solo → Verse → Chorus ×2 → 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
Verse 1
- D♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7
I7 – IV7 – I7
Chorus 1
- A♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7
V7 – IV7 – I7
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 2
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 3
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 3
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chorus 4
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Solo 1
- D♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7
I7 – IV7 – I7
Solo 2
- A♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7
V7 – IV7 – I7
Verse 4
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 5
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chorus 6
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Outro
- D♭7
I7
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| D♭7 | I7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Verse, Chorus, Solo, Outro |
| G♭7 | IV7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Verse, Chorus, Solo |
| A♭7 | V7 | In the key | Chorus, Solo |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0383, 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.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the expert transcription listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011)Expert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0383, CC0), via ChoCo.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verse 1 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 2 | Verse 1 | G♭7 | G♭2, D♭3 | D♭4, F♭4, B♭4 | — |
| 3 | Verse 1 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 4 | Chorus 1 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | C4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 5 | Chorus 1 | G♭7 | G♭2, D♭3 | D♭4, F♭4, B♭4 | — |
| 6 | Chorus 1 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 7 | Solo 1 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 8 | Solo 1 | G♭7 | G♭2, D♭3 | D♭4, F♭4, B♭4 | — |
| 9 | Solo 1 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 10 | Solo 2 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | C4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 11 | Solo 2 | G♭7 | G♭2, D♭3 | D♭4, F♭4, B♭4 | — |
| 12 | Solo 2 | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 13 | Outro | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | C♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |