Time Will Reveal by DeBarge

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 25 · Sections: 15

Form: Intro → Verse → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus ×2 → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus ×2 → 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

Intro

• Fm/C – C (×2)
  iv⁶₄ – I

Verse 1

• Fm6/C – Cmaj7 (×2)
  iv6 (bass C) – Imaj7
• Fm6/C – Cmaj9 – Fm6/C – Bm7 – E7♯11 – Am7 – D7 – G7 – Am7 – D7 – Bm7/C
  iv6 (bass C) – Imaj9 – iv6 (bass C) – vii7 – III7#11 – vi7 – II7 – V7 – vi7 – II7 – vii7 (bass C)

Verse 2

• Fm6/C – Cmaj7 (×2)
  iv6 (bass C) – Imaj7
• Fm6/C – Cmaj9 – Fm6/C – Bm7 – E7♯11
  iv6 (bass C) – Imaj9 – iv6 (bass C) – vii7 – III7#11
• Am7 – D7 – G7sus4 – G7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7 – V7sus4 – V7
• Am7 – D7
  vi7 – II7

Pre-Chorus 1

• Gmaj7 – C7sus4 – Fmaj7 – B♭7sus4 – Dm7 – Em7 – Fmaj7 – G7sus4
  Vmaj7 – I7sus4 – IVmaj7 – bVII7sus4 – ii7 – iii7 – IVmaj7 – V7sus4

Chorus 1

• Csus4 – C – Em7 – Fmaj7 – F/G – G♯dim – Am7 – Em7 – F♯m7 – B7 – Baug7/D♯ – Em7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7
  Isus4 – I – iii7 – IVmaj7 – IV (bass G) – #v° – vi7 – iii7 – #iv7 – VII7 – VII+⁶₅ – iii7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7

Interlude

• Fm/C – Cmaj7 – Fm6/C – Cmaj7
  iv⁶₄ – Imaj7 – iv6 (bass C) – Imaj7

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 2.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 4

• Fm/C
  iv⁶₄
• Cmaj7 – Fm6/C (×2)
  Imaj7 – iv6 (bass C)
• Fm/C – C – Fm6/C (×2)
  iv⁶₄ – I – iv6 (bass C)
• Fm/C – C – Fm/C – Fm69/C – Bm7 – Em7
  iv⁶₄ – I – iv⁶₄ – iv69 (bass C) – vii7 – iii7
• Am7 – D7 – G7sus4 – G7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7 – V7sus4 – V7
• Am7 – D7
  vi7 – II7

Pre-Chorus 3

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 6

• Csus4 – C – Em7 – Fmaj7 – F/G – G♯dim – Am7 – Em7
  Isus4 – I – iii7 – IVmaj7 – IV (bass G) – #v° – vi7 – iii7

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Fm/C (iv⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm6/C (iv6 (bass C)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• C7sus4 (I7sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭7sus4 (bVII7sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm69/C (iv69 (bass C)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• E7♯11 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Am7.
• D7 acts as V/V: it resolves to G7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1013, 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.