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I VI I V: C Am C G

'Wherever I Lay My Hat' v.

I VI II I: C Am Dm C

'Stoned Love'.

I VI IV I: C Am F C

'One', 'Sailing' v, 'Soul Love' v.

I VImaj VI I: C A Am C

'Heart Of Glass'.

I bVII IV I: C Bb F C

'I Can't Explain', 'Hey Jude' c. 'Blowin'Free' v, 'Just When You're Thinking Things Over'

ch.

I bVII IV bVII: C Bb F Bb

'Don't You Forget About Me' v, 'Centerfold'.

Three-Chord Songs in a Minor Key
Analyzing minor-key sequences in popular music is problematic because the natural minor key has chords that are
identical to the relative major. In classical music, minor keys tend to be more clearly signaled by the harmonic or
melodic minor forms of the scale rather than the natural minor. Keep this in mind when looking at some of these
examples. It is not always easy to judge whether a progression is in the natural minor key or its relative major (A
minor or C major, for example).
The "default" is therefore assumed to be the natural minor scale and its chords: Am Bdim C Dm Em F G. In this
book F is called VI and G VII, not bVI and bVII, because on the natural minor scale the sixth and seventh notes have
not been flattened in the way that they can be on the major scale.

I VII VI: Am G F

Minor-chord sequences in pop and rock are dominated by I, VII, VI in either direction. In A minor this is Am G F; in
E minor it is Em D C. You will have to check whether this really is in a minor key or is in the relative major,
because Am G F could be VI V IV in C and Em D C could be VI V IV in G. Look up these chords on the table to get
a clearer sense of this. The same chord sequence can have a different harmonic meaning depending on the key.
Fleetwood Mac's 'You Make Loving Fun' has a verse that uses Gm F Eb as a turnaround. This could lead us to think
that the song is in G minor, in which case this would be a I-VII-VI in that key. However the chorus starts on a strong
Bb and we realize that actually the song is in Bb. The Gm-F-Eb was actually VI V IV in Bb. A similar ambiguity
arises in Texas' 'White On Blonde'.
Songs that use I, VII and VI in the minor key include: 'In The Air Tonight', 'Sultans Of Swing', 'Layla', 'Stairway To
Heaven' (guitar solo), 'Achilles Last Stand', 'Hello', 'Don't Fear The Reaper', 'Dreams', 'Breathing', 'Slide Away' v,
'Because The Night', 'The Glastonbury Song', 'Wishing Well', 'Don't Believe A Word' coda. It is used ascending in
'Bring On The Night', 'This Time', 'The Beat' v, 'Running Up That Hill', 'Theme From S-Express', 'Weak' and 'Wild
Hearted Woman'. In some of these examples, VII may not as strong as in others –