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“Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy” by Queen from the album “A Night at the Opera” is essentially written in the key of C major. The song includes an intricate and quite peculiar chord progression full of chromatic and borrowed chords, highly characteristic of Queen’s eccentric and unique style of songwriting. In particular, Freddie Mercury, the primary songwriter, often incorporated complex harmonic structures from classical music into their rock/pop context.

The complexity and richness of the harmonics is among the aspects that make Queen’s songs stand out and, in this specific track, it contributes to the song’s upbeat yet nostalgic feel.

Killer Queen’ is one of Queen’s signature songs, abounding with Freddie Mercury’s flamboyant melodic invention, clever harmonies, and theatrical presentation. Its chorus in particular uses an array of chords to create a sophisticated and fluid progression. Before embarking on a note-by-note analysis, we can note that it principally operates in the key of G Major and involves a number of borrowed and secondary chords that bring intrigue and depth to the progression.

The chord progression of the chorus of California Kids by Weezer displays a mixture of diatonic and borrowed chords in the key of F Major. The progression has a common pop-rock feel with some chromatic harmonic elements, bringing a more interesting and engaging effect to the listener.

“Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin is a classic rock song with a strong blues influence. It features a heavy riff-based progression and a powerful vocal performance by Robert Plant. The song is in the key of E Mixolydian, a mode based on the fifth degree of the A Major scale, and exhibits a heavy use of syncopation, pentatonic scales, and chromaticism throughout its structure. The rich harmonic language and distorted guitar tone makes the song an excellent example of the emerging Hard Rock and Heavy Metal styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“Here Comes The Sun” is written by George Harrison from The Beatles and it is a key example of the band’s flirtation with what is commonly referred to as Mixolydian mode. The piece showcases their skillful blending of folk idioms with contemporary pop sensibilities.

Queen – Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy – Chorus 3

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Chord Progression

[‘C’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘F’, ‘C’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘E7/G#’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘Dm7’, ‘Fm’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’]

Chord Progression Analysis

“`
C (I),
G7/B (V7/iii),
Am (vi),
Em (iii),
F (IV),
C (I),
G7/B (V7/iii),
Am (vi),
E7/G# (V7/vi),
Am (vi),
Em (iii),
Am (vi),
Em (iii),
Dm7 (ii7),
Fm (iv- Borrowed from C minor),
G7 (V7),
C (I),
G (V),
C (I)
“`

Similar Chord Progressions

While this exact chord progression might not appear in many songs due to its complexity, certain movements such as IV – I, I – vi, and V7 – I are very common in popular music. The use of chromatic mediants, secondary dominants and borrowed chords are also seen in many compositions by The Beatles, particularly in songs like “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Chord progression for “Penny Lane”:
“`
B (I),
E/F# (V/I),
G#m (iii),
F# (V),
B (I),
F#7/A# (V7/IV),
B/D# (I),
F# (V),
B (I)
“`

Musical Analysis

The progression starts brightly with the tonic C major chord (I), then moves to G7/B (V7/iii), functioning as a secondary dominant to set up the following Am chord (vi). Em is the mediant (iii), followed by a plagal cadence from F (IV) back to C (I). The Fm that appears is a borrowed chord from the C minor key, adding a touch of melancholy into the progression.

Overall Analysis

This chord progression is from the song, “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” by Queen, which is known for its complex and intricate progressions. The song is set in the key of C major, and it features a mixture of triadic major and minor chords, dominant sevenths and the common use of borrowed and secondary dominant chords to create tension. This creates a lot of harmonic interest.

Style Analysis

Queen is noted for their unique blend of rock, pop and classical influences, and “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy” exemplifies this with its mix of tonally stable and less predictable harmonic movements. It uses both diatonic and non-diatonic chords regularly, which is a characteristic trait of Queen’s harmonic language especially in their ballads and slower songs.

Chords in the Chorus 3 section of Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen are:

[‘C’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘F’, ‘C’, ‘G7/B’, ‘Am’, ‘E7/G#’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘Am’, ‘Em’, ‘Dm7’, ‘Fm’, ‘G7’, ‘C’, ‘G’, ‘C’]