The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 15 steps · 4 unique chords · 1950s
A
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: A major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 12
Form: Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → 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
- A – D – E7 – A
I – IV – V7 – I
Verse 1
- A – D – E7 (×2)
I – IV – V7 - A
I
Chorus 1
- A – E (×2)
I – V - A
I
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.
Bridge 1
- A – E (×2)
I – V - A
I
Verse 4
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 4
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Bridge 2
Same chords as Bridge 1.
Outro
- A
I
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | I | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Outro |
| D | IV | In the key | Intro, Verse |
| E7 | V7 | In the key | Intro, Verse |
| E | V | In the key | Chorus, Bridge |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0500, 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 0500, CC0), via ChoCo.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | A | A2, E3 | C♯4, E4, A4 | — |
| 2 | Intro | D | D2, A2 | D4, F♯4, A4 | — |
| 3 | Intro | E7 | E2, B2 | D4, G♯4, B4 | — |
| 4 | Intro | A | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C♯5 | — |
| 5 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | A | A2, E3 | E4, A4, C♯5 | — |
| 6 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | D | D2, A2 | F♯4, A4, D5 | — |
| 7 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | E7 | E2, B2 | G♯4, B4, D5 | — |
| 8 | Verse 1, part 2 | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |
| 9 | Chorus 1, part 1 (×2) | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |
| 10 | Chorus 1, part 1 (×2) | E | E2, B2 | G♯4, B4, E5 | — |
| 11 | Chorus 1, part 2 | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |
| 12 | Bridge 1, part 1 (×2) | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |
| 13 | Bridge 1, part 1 (×2) | E | E2, B2 | G♯4, B4, E5 | — |
| 14 | Bridge 1, part 2 | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |
| 15 | Outro | A | A2, E3 | A4, C♯5, E5 | — |