Wichita Lineman by Jimmy Webb

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 4

Form: Intro → A Section → A Section → A Section

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart 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

• Fmaj7 – Gm/C – Fmaj7
  Imaj7 – ii (bass C) – Imaj7

A Section 1

• Gm/C – B♭maj7 – Am7 – Gm/C – Dm7 – Am7 – G – D – Dsus4 – D – Cmaj9 – G/B – Gm/B♭ – D/A – A – B♭maj7 – Cadd9 – B♭maj7
  ii (bass C) – IVmaj7 – iii7 – ii (bass C) – vi7 – iii7 – II – VI – VIsus4 – VI – Vmaj9 – II⁶ – ii⁶ – VI⁶₄ – III – IVmaj7 – Vadd9 – IVmaj7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

• Gm/C – B♭maj7 – Am7 – Gm/C – Dm7 – Am7 – G – D – Dsus4 – D – Cmaj9 – G/B – Gm/B♭ – D/A – A
  ii (bass C) – IVmaj7 – iii7 – ii (bass C) – vi7 – iii7 – II – VI – VIsus4 – VI – Vmaj9 – II⁶ – ii⁶ – VI⁶₄ – III
• B♭maj7 – Cadd9 (×6)
  IVmaj7 – Vadd9

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro
Gm/C	ii (bass C)	In the key	Intro, A Section
B♭maj7	IVmaj7	In the key	A Section
Am7	iii7	In the key	A Section
Dm7	vi7	In the key	A Section
G	II	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D	VI	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Dsus4	VIsus4	In the key	A Section
Cmaj9	Vmaj9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G/B	II⁶	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gm/B♭	ii⁶	In the key	A Section
D/A	VI⁶₄	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A	III	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Cadd9	Vadd9	In the key	A Section

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Wichita Lineman” (credited “Webb Jimmy”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Wichita Lineman Rev” (credited “Webb Jimmy”, style Latin) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 67%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.