We Are the Champions by Queen

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 28 · Sections: 6

Form: 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

• Cm – G7sus4/C (×4)
  v – II7sus4 (bass C)
• E♭ – B♭7sus4/E♭ (×2)
  bVII – IV7sus4 (bass E♭)
• E♭ – B♭/D – Cm – F7 – B♭ – B♭7sus4 – B♭7♯11 – B♭7 – C7
  bVII – IV⁶ – v – I7 – IV – IV7sus4 – IV7#11 – IV7 – V7

Chorus 1

• F – Am7 – D – B♭5 – C5 – F – Am7 – B♭ – D7/F♯ – Gm – B♭m – A7♭9/E – A7♭9/G – F – E♭maj7♯11/G – A♭6 – B♭ – Cm11
  I – iii7 – VI – IV5 – V5 – I – iii7 – IV – VI⁶₅ – ii – iv – III7b9 (bass E) – III7b9 (bass G) – I – bVIImaj7#11 (bass G) – bIII6 – IV – v11

Transition

• Fm – Gm7 (×2)
  i – ii7
• Fm – C7sus4
  i – V7sus4

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

• F – Am7 – Dm – B♭5 – C5 – F – Am7 – B♭ – D7/F♯ – Gm – B♭m – A7♭9/E – A7♭9/G – F – E♭maj7♯11/G – A♭6 – B♭ – Cm11
  I – iii7 – vi – IV5 – V5 – I – iii7 – IV – VI⁶₅ – ii – iv – III7b9 (bass E) – III7b9 (bass G) – I – bVIImaj7#11 (bass G) – bIII6 – IV – v11

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Cm (v) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭ (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭7sus4/E♭ (IV7sus4 (bass E♭)) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭7sus4 (IV7sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m (iv) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• A♭6 (bIII6) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• Fm (i) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• F7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to B♭.
• D7/F♯ acts as V/ii: it resolves to Gm.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0588, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: another expert transcription (the Isophonics reference annotations (Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London)) differs in places from this one, so this page isn't marked verified.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.