The Stroke by Billy Squier

Overview

Key: D minor · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 11

Form: Verse → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Chorus

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

• G5 – D5 – G5 – A5
  IV5 – I5 – IV5 – V5

Transition 1

• Dm – C/D (×3)
  i – bVII (bass D)
• G5/C – G5
  IV5 (bass C) – IV5
• Dm – C/D (×3)
  i – bVII (bass D)
• G5 – F5
  IV5 – bIII5

Verse 2

• Dm – G5/C – G5 – Dm – G5 – D5 – G5 – A5
  i – IV5 (bass C) – IV5 – i – IV5 – I5 – IV5 – V5

Chorus 1

• C – Dm – G5 – F5 (×3)
  bVII – i – IV5 – bIII5
• C – Dm
  bVII – i

Transition 2

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 2.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 3

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 4

Same chords as Verse 2.

Chorus 3

• Dm
  i

Chorus 4

• C – Dm – G5/C – G5 – C – Dm – G5 – F5 (×2)
  bVII – i – IV5 (bass C) – IV5 – bVII – i – IV5 – bIII5

Chord vocabulary

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0963, 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.