You're the Top by Cole Porter

Overview

Key: E♭ major · Chords used: 26 · Sections: 5

Form: A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → C 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

A Section 1

• E♭maj7 – Edim7 – Fm7 – B♭7 – Gm7 – F♯dim7 – Gm7 – C7
  Imaj7 – #i°7 – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – #ii°7 – iii7 – VI7
• Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭maj7 (×2)
  ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
• Edim7 – Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭maj7 – Am7 – D7
  #i°7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – #iv7 – VII7
• Gm7 – D7♭9 (×2)
  iii7 – VII7b9
• B♭7 – B♭aug7
  V7 – V+7

A Section 2

• E♭6 – Edim7 – Fm7 – B♭7 – Cm – Cmmaj7 – Cm7 – Cm6 – Dm7♭5 – G7♭9
  I6 – #i°7 – ii7 – V7 – vi – vimaj7 – vi7 – vi6 – viiø7 – III7b9

B Section

• A♭maj7 – Gm7 – Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭6 – Am7♭5 – D7 – G7 – C7 – F7 – Fm7 – B♭7
  IVmaj7 – iii7 – ii7 – V7 – I6 – #ivø7 – VII7 – III7 – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7

A Section 3

• E♭6 – Edim7 – Fm7 – B♭7 – Cm – Cmmaj7 – Cm7 – Cm6 – B♭m7 – E♭7
  I6 – #i°7 – ii7 – V7 – vi – vimaj7 – vi7 – vi6 – v7 – I7

C Section

• A♭maj7 – Gm7 – Fm7 – Gm7 – A♭maj7 – C7♭9 – F7 – Fm7 – B♭7sus4 – E♭6 – Fm7 – B♭7
  IVmaj7 – iii7 – ii7 – iii7 – IVmaj7 – VI7b9 – II7 – ii7 – V7sus4 – I6 – ii7 – V7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
E♭maj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Edim7	#i°7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Fm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section
B♭7	V7	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section
Gm7	iii7	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section
F♯dim7	#ii°7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section, B Section
Am7	#iv7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7	VII7	Secondary dominant (V/iii)	A Section, B Section
D7♭9	VII7b9	Secondary dominant (V/iii)	A Section
B♭aug7	V+7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
E♭6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section, C Section
Cm	vi	In the key	A Section
Cmmaj7	vimaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Cm7	vi7	In the key	A Section
Cm6	vi6	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Dm7♭5	viiø7	In the key	A Section
G7♭9	III7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A♭maj7	IVmaj7	In the key	B Section, C Section
Am7♭5	#ivø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
G7	III7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, C Section
B♭m7	v7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
E♭7	I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C7♭9	VI7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
B♭7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• B♭aug7 (V+7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• B♭m7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• C7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Fm7.
• D7 acts as V/iii: it resolves to Gm7.
• D7♭9 acts as V/iii: it resolves to Gm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “You're The Top” (credited “Porter Cole”, style Medium Swing) 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 “You're The Top” (credited “Porter Cole”, style Medium Swing) 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 100%).
• 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.