One, Two, Better Not Sue: Similar Chord Progressions in Songs
Background: As a musician, it has always been fun for me to create odd pairings of songs and make medleys out of them. You probably wouldn’t associate “One” by U2 with “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen or “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan with “This is Where I Came In” by The Bee Gees, but they flow into each other quite nicely. Although those songs are very different from one another, there is a reason why they fit so nicely: The chords and chord progressions. In this blog, we will discuss those odd pairings and why they work. As you write and search for an appropriate feel for your melody, I hope this blog will be one to reference, so you don’t write off a good melodic line of best fit, just because the vibe of the lyrics doesn’t match what inspired it.
Note: I did not discuss “Let’s Get it On” and “Thinking Out Loud” in this blog, but the latter is a more recent example of using a similar chord progression as a previous song, while not inherently ripping it off.
“The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band and “Beverly Hills” by Weezer
A. “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band
Lyrically: This is a carefree song, where the narrator defends himself to his significant other, against her friends who say he’s “doing (her) wrong,” but reassures her that he’s exactly the one she needs. This culminates in the chorus, where he says, “I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner. I play my music in the sun. I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker. I sure don’t wanna hurt no one.” Despite some of his qualities (being a sinner, and later, getting his lovin’ on the run), that can be seen as bad, the overall song insists that he’s innocent and that he’ll treat her well.
Melodically: “The Joker” is in the key of G, using a I, IV, V chord progression. The root note is the G. The song starts off with the G (I), then going to the C. (IV), D (V). It uses a G, C, D, G, C, G picking pattern throughout the verses, and the chorus uses the same chords. However, in the chorus, each chord, with the exception of the last few lines is held out for a full line:
I’m a picker (G)
I’m a grinner (C)
I’m a lover (G)
And I’m a sinner (C—G)
I play my music in the sun (C, D, C)
I’m a joker (G)
I’m a smoker (C)
I’m a midnight toker (G–C)
I sure don’t wanna hurt no one (G, C, D, D7)
Structurally: This song follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, ending format. The song begins to fade out when he starts to sing the “You’re the cutest thing that I ever did see,” line, which I classify as the ending section.
B. “Beverly Hills” by Weezer
Lyrically: This song is about wanting to live the high life in Beverly Hills with all the movie stars, who have housemaids, drive fancy cars, and have poolside photoshoots. At the time of this song’s release, Weezer was already five albums and 13 years into their career, but writer and lead singer Rivers Cuomo has said that it came from a very genuine place, when he wrote it, having seen a member of Wilson Phillips on TV and wishing he could marry into that lifestyle.
Melodically: “Beverly Hills” follows a I, IV, V pattern. The overall song is written in F and uses the chords F and Bb for the first two lines of the verses, then goes F, Bb, C in the third line. The chorus uses F maj, Bb, C, Bb, F, (I) Bb (IV), C, (V) and repeats that pattern once. The cadence of “Beverly Hills” is almost identical to that of “The Joker”. The big commonality between the two songs is that the C chord is diatonic to both. However in “Beverly Hills,” the C chord is the V chord, while in “The Joker,” the C chord is the IV chord.
Both “The Joker” and “Beverly Hills” are embedded below, so you can hear the differences back to back.
2. “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers Band and “Loser” by Beck
A. “Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers Band
Lyrically: This is a classic southern rock outlaw song. It follows a narrator who’s “Got to run to keep from hiding,” and due to his life on the lam, is nearly out of money, but is not giving up, despite that fact.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of G and starts on the D (V), staying on that chord for the first three lines, before going to a Gm7 (i, borrowed from G minor), Am7 (ii), and finishing with the D (V). It follows this pattern for the whole song.
Structurally: The song contains three verses, with the hook of, “No I’m not gonna let ‘em catch me no. Not gonna let ‘em catch the midnight rider,” coming at the end of each verse.
B. “Loser” by Beck
Lyrically: The song describes all the things wrong with the narrator, before finally concluding in the chorus, “I’m a loser, baby. So why don’t you kill me?” The first part of the chorus is Spanish for “I’m a loser” (“Soy un perdedor”). The verses, though mostly nonsensical, have some gems in them, such as, “Car flamin’ with a loser and the cruise control.” “Got a couple of couches and sleep on the love seat,” and “Save all the food stamps and burn down the trailer park.”
Melodically: While “Midnight Rider” is defined by its motoring-along picking pattern, “Loser” is remembered for its slide guitar riff. Loser is written in the key of D major, with the main riff alternating between D and a Gb (a I, IV progression). Before the chorus comes in, a D5 chord is played, and in the second verse, rather than staying on the D5, he plays a D9, prior to the chorus kicking in again. Similar to all the songs we look at today, a key component in these two songs’ similarities is the rhythm. Also, these two songs use variations of the G and the D, played in reverse order.
As there is a rap component to this song, the verses are a little bit longer than normal. At the time of release, Beck said he considered his music to be folk rock-oriented, but thought people would be more likely to listen to it if he put rap beats behind it. So that’s how we got the combination of the slide guitar and the beats, along with the lyrics.
Structurally: “Loser” follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, chorus format. Its emphasis on all the things wrong with him fits well with the rambling nature of the verses, and its staccato-like delivery fits well with his acceptance of who he is.
Both “Midnight Rider” and “Loser” are embedded below, so you can listen to their melodic similarities in succession.
3. “Moondance” and Billie Jean”
A. “Moondance” by Van Morrison
Lyrically: “Moondance” is a romantic song that talks about going outside and dancing with your significant other underneath the moon on a beautiful fall night. The dark setting leads to lines about “trying to place the calling of your heartstrings,” but coming to the ultimate conclusion that it won’t be hard, since “The night’s magic seems to whisper and hush,” and the “Soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush.”
Melodically: The verses to “Moondance” go from Am to Bm7, to Am7, to Bm7. The pre-chorus Dm7, to Am7, and follows that pattern until the last line, which uses an E7#9. The chorus uses Am, Dm7 pattern, but coming out of the chorus, there is an E7#9 played, which resolves, along with the saxophone, to go into another verse and once into a solo. The solo gets played over the progression of of Am, Bm7, Am7, Bm7, which gets played 8 times, before moving into a Dm7, G, Am7, and G13 progression, which gets played 3 times, followed by a D and Em7, and closing on an Am, Dm7, Am, Dm7 progression, which gets played four times. Overall, the song is written in Am.
Structurally: The song follows a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo, verse, pre-chorus, chorus format. The last verse gets sung slightly differently (a little bit higher and with a little less staccato to wind down the song).
On a personal note, I used to listen to this song all the time with my dad when I was younger. When he would wind the clock in our living room, we’d listen to Moondance. The title track was one of my favorites!
B. “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
Lyrically: “Billie Jean” tells the story of someone from the narrator’s past, who insists that the narrator is the father to her child, and won’t leave him alone about it. However, throughout the chorus, he says, “Billie Jean is not my lover – she’s just a girl who thinks that I am the one. But the kid is not my son.” There’s no telling if he actually fathered this kid, but at the very least, he did thrill her.
Melodically: The song’s string parts are what I want to focus on, for the sake of comparing to “Moondance.” Those chords are F#m and Bm, which are used in both the verses, choruses, and bridge of “Billie Jean.” The solo is played over the verse. The two big things that link both “Moondance” and “Billie Jean” are the Bm chord, and mostly, the rhythm of the main riff within the two songs.
Structurally: “Billie Jean” follows a verse, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo, bridge, ending structure. The bridge is a rehashing of the last part of the chorus, “She says I am the one. But the kid is not my son.” The ending just repeats, “Billy Jean is not my lover,” before the solo comes in and fades out with the song.
Both “Moondance” and “Billy Jean” are embedded below, so you can listen to their melodic similarities in succession.
For further watching/listening, I have also embedded “The Four Chord Song” by Axis of Awesomeness, which shows how many hit pop songs have been written with the same chord progressions (even if they’re not the same notes all the time).
