Elton John – Rocket Man – Verse 1
Rocket Man < All Analyses
Chord Progression
[‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘Asus4’, ‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘G/B’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘C/G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Dsus2’, ‘D’, ‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘Asus4’, ‘Em7’, ‘Asus4’, ‘G/B’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘C/G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘D/A’, ‘D’, ‘C/D’]
Chord Progression Analysis
Formatted like “Full Chord Name (‘Roman Numeral’)”:
“`plaintext
Em7 (‘ii7’),
A (‘IV’),
A (‘IV’),
Asus4 (‘IVsus4’),
Em7 (‘ii7’),
A (‘IV’),
A (‘IV’),
G/B (‘I6’),
C (‘vi’),
G/B (‘I6’),
Am (‘ii’),
C/G (‘V6’),
D/F# (‘V64’),
Dsus2 (‘V’),
D (‘V’),
Em7 (‘ii7’),
A (‘IV’),
Asus4 (‘IVsus4’),
Em7 (‘ii7’),
Asus4 (‘IVsus4’),
G/B (‘I6’),
C (‘vi’),
G/B (‘I6’),
Am (‘ii’),
C/G (‘V6’),
D/F# (‘V64’),
D/A (‘V43’),
D (‘V’),
C/D (‘VII7/IV’).
“`
In this code block ‘I6’, ‘V64’ and ‘V43’ denote different inversions of the tonic and dominant chords (G and D respectively in this context), ‘VII7/IV’ indicates a secondary dominant chord. ‘ii7’, ‘IV’ and ‘Vi’ are standard numerals for minor and major chords. ‘IVsus4’ indicates a suspended 4th chord.
Similar Chord Progressions
Interestingly, the 1975 song “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc uses quite a similar harmonic progression. The verse of “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton also features a number of chordal similarities. Also, some harmonic moments can be found in The Beatles’s atmospheric “Across the Universe”. In all these pieces you can find a similar use of complex chords, including sus and secondary dominants that give the sound its “floating” and varying feeling.
Musical Analysis
The chord progression features varied inversions for truelly outlining the harmonic motion. The use of suspended chords (Asus4, Dsus2) gives the song its light, floating atmosphere — somewhat matching the lyrical theme of space travel.
Overall Analysis
“Rocket Man” by Elton John and his long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin is a standout song in Elton John’s discography, well known for its memorable melody line and masterful chord progression that was very innovative for its time (1972). It showcases his trademark style of combining rock with various other genres such as folk.
Overall, the harmony in this song is quite rich and a clear example of Elton John’s ’70s songwriting style: using complex chords and a lot of borrowed chords from other keys that add extra color to the harmonic progression.
Style Analysis
Elton John’s writing style is renowned for its unpredictability, striking a balance between the rock and pop genres while leaning heavily into more complex songwriting strategies typically found in classical music. In ‘Rocket Man,’ he uses this to create an atmospheric, ethereal sound that perfectly complements the song’s space-bound subject matter.
What are the chords in: Elton John – Rocket Man – Verse 1?
[‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘Asus4’, ‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘G/B’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘C/G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘Dsus2’, ‘D’, ‘Em7’, ‘A’, ‘Asus4’, ‘Em7’, ‘Asus4’, ‘G/B’, ‘C’, ‘G/B’, ‘Am’, ‘C/G’, ‘D/F#’, ‘D/A’, ‘D’, ‘C/D’]
