You Send Me by Sam Cooke

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 9 · Sections: 8

Form: Chorus → Chorus → Bridge → Chorus ×2 → Chorus → Bridge → Chorus

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. 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

Chorus 1

• G – Em – Am – D (×4)
  I – vi – ii – V

Chorus 2

• G – Em – Am – D (×3)
  I – vi – ii – V
• G – C – G
  I – IV – I

Bridge 1

• Am – D7♭9 – G (×3)
  ii – V7b9 – I
• F – E – A – D
  bVII – VI – II – V

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Bridge 2

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Chorus 6

Same chords as Chorus 2.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
G	I	Home chord (tonic)	Chorus, Bridge
Em	vi	In the key	Chorus
Am	ii	In the key	Chorus, Bridge
D	V	In the key	Chorus, Bridge
C	IV	In the key	Chorus
D7♭9	V7b9	Borrowed from G minor	Bridge
F	bVII	Borrowed from G minor	Bridge
E	VI	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
A	II	Secondary dominant (V/V)	Bridge

Harmonic highlights

• D7♭9 (V7b9) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• F (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• A acts as V/V: it resolves to D.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
• Cross-check: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David Temperley. Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 99% of the song.
• Verified: two independent expert transcriptions agree on this song's harmony.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.