chord question in WN's Always on My Mind

[Merlemantel]

I am playing Always on My MInd using a G major transciption. I think the transcription has a wrong chord. What is the proper chord on the word SHOULD have (the same progression occurs over and over again, but this is the first time). Going into that chord change I have emin G/D then ? the change occurs right on the word should. Thanks for your help.
Leesa

[ssjk]

Willie plays it in D, and for playing along with him the chord on "should" seems to be E7. Never liked that much but I think it might be because he's got it on piano instead of guitar.

Anyway, FWIW I hear the chords on each line this way transposed to G:

G D/F# Em G C D

G D/F# Em G A

C G C G/B A7 D

D Em D7 G

C D G C D

PM me if you'd like a PDF of th song sheet in G or in D if you want to play along with Wille.

[mr. beaumont]

It's an E major (E7 really) in Willie's version in D, so in the key of G, you should be hitting an A major (or an A7) there.

[Brent Hahn]

I think it's at least possible that OP is really doing it in D but thinks the song is in G because the Willie intro starts on the 4 chord. Which would make the chord on "should" an E7.

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

I think it's at least possible that OP is really doing it in D but thinks the song is in G because the Willie intro starts on the 4 chord. Which would make the chord on "should" an E7.

Nope, not that clueless

[Merlemantel]

Thanks everyone. I am playing it in G because it sits in a good place for my voice and I wanted to play it in the first position. The transcription I have has that chord as a C#min with a flatted 5th. I thought it was probably an A7, that sounded right to my ear, but wanted to check. A C#min with a flatted 5th is a diminished chord, of course, and that just sounded wrong. Thanks again.

[egordon99]

Originally Posted by Merlemantel

Thanks everyone. I am playing it in G because it sits in a good place for my voice and I wanted to play it in the first position. The transcription I have has that chord as a C#min with a flatted 5th. I thought it was probably an A7, that sounded right to my ear, but wanted to check. A C#min with a flatted 5th is a diminished chord, of course, and that just sounded wrong. Thanks again.

An A7 contains the notes A C# E G

A C#m flat 5 contains C# E G

So they are basically the same chord except for the bass note.

[Merlemantel]

Originally Posted by egordon99

An A7 contains the notes A C# E G

A C#m flat 5 contains C# E G

So they are basically the same chord except for the bass note.

Yep, but that one note makes a big difference.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Merlemantel

The transcription I have has that chord as a C#min with a flatted 5th.

Well, that makes it a C#diminished.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Merlemantel

Yep, but that one note makes a big difference.

Well, normally, both chords have a dominant function in D major. Obviously the bass line is different, so the more that stands out, the more you hear the difference.

I.e. A7 and C#dim both lead to D in the same way. They both have "dominant function" You could combine the two by playing A7/C# - i.e., adding an A higher in the C#dim.

However ... ! .. in this case the chord is not a dominant function chord. In the original studio version, on piano in D, the chord is G#m7b5 (G#-B-D-F# = Bm/G#). So that's like a rootless E9, but it's actually just harmonizing the descending bass line:
D - A/C# - Bm - Bm/A - Bm/G# - G ...

In the so-called "official" youtube where he's playing guitar, he just plays a plain E major, and the bass is also playing E (after the B-A bass on the Bm). So they skip the "fancy" descending bass idea, and obviously it sounds fine to go to G straight from the E.

So if you're playing it in G, the choice is between Em/C# (if you want the bass line between Em/D and C), or A, A7 or A9, w/wo a C# bass.

IOW, the harmony is really Em all the way on that line ("quite as good as I should have"). It's the bass line that makes the difference in the original, by hitting that chromatic note. But you can emulate it well enough with the major II chord (A or A7 in G major).

BTW, that Bm descent in the original reminds me of the line in Penny Lane:

|Bm/A              |Bm/G#                |Bm/G (Gmaj7)
|know, and all the |people that come and |go, .......

[Rogerblair]

Y’all know more about notes than Willie. 🤪🤪

Rb

[Charlie Bernstein]

Whew! Glad you didn't mean Wayne Newton!

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Rogerblair

Y’all know more about notes than Willie. ����

Rb

Willie knows more about notes than I do.
That's why you've heard of him, and never heard of me.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Rogerblair

Y’all know more about notes than Willie. 🤪🤪

Rb

Willie's model guitar player is Django Reinhardt...you better believe he knows his stuff.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Willie's model guitar player is Django Reinhardt...you better believe he knows his stuff.

Everybody's model guitar player should be Django Reinhardt!