The Strangest Chord in a Country Song

[ndcaster]

@Telecaster88 recently asked for help in identifying a chord in a Patsy Cline song here, and while that chord (dim7) was a fairly common passing chord, it got me thinking about what would be the strangest chord in an existing country tune

in the chorus of Merle Haggard's "Every Fool Has a Rainbow," the second chord (an inversion of an augmented?) might be one example



"I'm No Stranger to the Rain" is based on Eadd9, which I think was unusual up to that point



it's common now, but Willie Nelson's I > III7 in "On the Road Again" was probably a little ear-bending when you first hear it



anyone else point to an example of what counts as the "strangest" chord in a country song?

 

[Wally]

Re: that I>III7 change. That change was used before Willie used it In his 1980 hit. “Desert Skies”, released by Marshall Tucker in 1977, used that move. In that song , I like to move from the E to a G#7…before moving on the IV as an A13…5-7-5-6-7-5.
I feel certain that the use of that major III chord was used before then….but it is a bit unusual.

 

[dsutton24]

It seems that you hear a lot of power chords these days if you hear a guitar at all.

 

[brookdalebill]

I nominate the second chord on Ronnie Milsap’s Lost In The 50’s Tonight.
I know it, and can play it with ease, but I don’t know it’s name.
Cool tune, cool chord, fun to play.

 

[johnny k]

The 2nd chord in that song. Is it the same as the first ? Maybe, but it sounds funny with the bass over it. Inverted A chord maybe ? so that you have the C# note of the bass ? No clue.

Weirdest progression in a country song ?

 

[Wally]

The 2nd chord in that song. Is it the same as the first ? Maybe, but it sounds funny with the bass over it. Inverted A chord maybe ? so that you have the C# note of the bass ? No clue.

Weirdest progression in a country song ?

Re: that second song…..the progression is not what is weird about that song.

 

[johnny k]

Re: that second song…..the progression is not what is weird about that song.

Maybe it is not the progression, but the timing is definitely weird to me. Changes are not that intuitive.

 

[Wally]

Maybe it is not the progression, but the timing is definitely weird to me. Changes are not that intuitive.

I noticed the timing of the changes. It definitely is not arranged in what we might thinking of as customary. However, with lyrics like those, who is going to be dancing, anyway….or even listening more than once out of anything but bewildered curiosity. The soNB certainly was accurately titled, I will admit. I knew Mama was a goner long before the song was over.
I did some research. Black did not write that song. It was written by Leon Payne, who also wrote ‘I love You Because’ and ‘Lost Highway’.

 

[ndcaster]

I nominate the second chord on Ronnie Milsap’s Lost In The 50’s Tonight.
I know it, and can play it with ease, but I don’t know it’s name.
Cool tune, cool chord, fun to play.

cool

sounds like Fmaj7 with a #5

do you play it like this? x8765x

or 1x322x?

definitely unusual in a country song, but is it a version of "In the Still of the Night" by Cole Porter?

it's similar to the chord in Haggard's "Every Fool," which is Daug with the F# in the bass, i.e. first inversion of D augmented

the second chord in "King of the Road" (key: Bb) is Eb?

a really unusual change is E major to C major, the first two chords in "Honey Don't"



ok, it's rockabilly

 

[ndcaster]

The 2nd chord in that song. Is it the same as the first ? Maybe, but it sounds funny with the bass over it. Inverted A chord maybe ? so that you have the C# note of the bass ? No clue.

Weirdest progression in a country song ?

wow, I had never heard "Psycho"

that is some hardcore, hard boiled, penny dreadful kind of stuff, +1!

 

[brookdalebill]

cool

sounds like Fmaj7 with a #5

do you play it like this? x8765x

Yes!

 

[Wally]

cool

sounds like Fmaj7 with a #5

do you play it like this? x8765x

or 1x322x?

definitely unusual in a country song, but is it a version of "In the Still of the Night" by Cole Porter?

it's similar to the chord in Haggard's "Every Fool," which is Daug with the F# in the bass, i.e. first inversion of D augmented

the second chord in "King of the Road" (key: Bb) is Eb?

a really unusual change is E major to C major, the first two chords in "Honey Don't"



ok, it's rockabilly

Re: “Honey Don’t” I once read a story about the first time Perkins brought that song to the studio and laid it out for the band. Supposedly, they said ‘Carl, that won’t work! He then proceeded to hpshow them how it did work! Lol.,,
I started to point to this song did not think it would be ‘country’ enough to fit the thread.

 

[ndcaster]

Re: “Honey Don’t” I once read a story about the first time Perkins brought that song to the studio and laid it out for the band. Supposedly, they said ‘Carl, that won’t work! He then proceeded to hpshow them how it did work! Lol.,,
I started to point to this song did not think it would be ‘country’ enough to fit the thread.

so rock-n-roll to do that

here's what I think is the strongest contender



"I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall" is a great country song, but it's right on the edge of something else without sounding contrived

the second chord is D major with C in the bass, which you might be tempted to call D7, but it doesn't have the function of a dominant 7th -- instead, you could either say it "prolongs tonic harmony" or that it "represents modal mixture" (entering C's "Lydian" mode)

so you could call it C6sus2(#11)

and that is a pretty strange chord to hear in a country song

 

[johnny k]

I noticed the timing of the changes. It definitely is not arranged in what we might thinking of as customary. However, with lyrics like those, who is going to be dancing, anyway….or even listening more than once out of anything but bewildered curiosity. The soNB certainly was accurately titled, I will admit. I knew Mama was a goner long before the song was over.
I did some research. Black did not write that song. It was written by Leon Payne, who also wrote ‘I love You Because’ and ‘Lost Highway’.

@ndcaster

If you like those sort of songs, slim cessna's auto club has got a bunch of them. The band those poor bast++ds also comes to mind, and angry johnny and the killbillies too.

 

[Wally]

@ndcaster

If you like those sort of songs, slim cessna's auto club has got a bunch of them. The band those poor bast++ds also comes to mind, and angry johnny and the killbillies too.

Thanks…but no thanks, Johnny. I gave an ear for a bit of each of those. There is nothing there for me, and there was nothing more than a saddening observation of psychotic behavior for me in the Noack song.
Fwiw, I don’t like the song ‘Hey, Joe’, either. Ommv….

 

[johnny k]

Thanks…but no thanks, Johnny. I gave an ear for a bit of each of those. There is nothing there for me, and there was nothing more than a saddening observation of psychotic behavior for me in the Noack song.
Fwiw, I don’t like the song ‘Hey, Joe’, either. Ommv….

I agree. When people go to dark places, like the slim cessna's song thou will be done, it is done in a poetic way that will make you think. Though you can maybe not relate to it today, at some point those songs will maybe bring you comfort.


It is hard to exaplain really, i always have a tear in my eye when i listen to this one, and it is the way it is done. Not really the meaning of the song, but the harmony.

 

[johnny k]

Thanks…but no thanks, Johnny. I gave an ear for a bit of each of those. There is nothing there for me, and there was nothing more than a saddening observation of psychotic behavior for me in the Noack song.
Fwiw, I don’t like the song ‘Hey, Joe’, either. Ommv….

I am sorry wally, i really did not want to make you feel ill at ease. But sometimes, i am so eager to share music with people that i tend to go all over the place.

 

[Wally]

@johnny k, No problem, mon ami.

 

[twangjeff]

There are lots of country songs with non diatonic harmony. Some great ones mentioned already, but Statue of a Fool is definitely one that trips people up.

The #5 on the V is a VERY common sound, but it is usually played by the pedal steel and made to resolve into the next chord.

 

[Wally]

The #5 on the V is a VERY common sound, but it is usually played by the pedal steel and made to resolve into the next chord.

That #5 chord is the relative major for a iv chord. The #5 is used in blues and jump blues to great effect.