The Beatles · from Let It Be (1970) · written by Paul McCartney
A study in the gospel-piano I–V–vi–IV progression and a plagal amen close.
The song runs the four-chord gospel loop (C–G–Am–F) that anchors much of Western pop harmony, adds an Fmaj7 to F6 upper-note shift, and closes each phrase with a plagal F to C amen cadence.
This is Paul's most famous gospel-piano song, in a home key of C major.
The verse runs the four friendliest chords in the key: home (C), its strongest neighbor (G), its sadder cousin (Am), and the warm one (F).
That C–G–Am–F pattern is called the gospel-piano progression, and thousands of pop songs use it.
The chorus opens on the sad chord Am and walks its bass down step by step through C/G to F, so the chords stay warm while the bass slides.
Each phrase closes with a soft, church-like finish called a plagal cadence, the same “amen” move from a hymn.
To see the exact chords and key, open Pollack or Isophonics.
The song is in C major and never modulates.
Every harmonic move draws from the seven diatonic chords, no borrowed color, no secondary dominants; the interest comes from voicing and cadence choice, not from harmonic surprise.
The verse runs C, G, Am, F (with the small variant F to C, G, F, C), the four-chord progression that gospel piano and pop have used for a century.
The tonic C moves to its dominant G, then falls to the relative minor Am, then to the warm subdominant F. That C–G–Am–F loop is arguably the single most familiar progression in Western pop harmony.
The F chord appears as F, Fmaj7, and F6, three voicings of the same IV chord with different upper tones (F, E on top for Fmaj7, D on top for F6).
Adding the seventh or the sixth to the F chord colors the subdominant with a jazzy piano flavor. All three voicings act as IV.
The chorus opens on Am (vi), then moves to C/G, a first-inversion tonic with G in the bass.
That single change walks the bass from A down to G, then to F under Fmaj7, so the bass steps down A, G, F while the harmony above stays close to home. This kind of stepwise descending bass under held chord tones is a hymn writer's move.
Both the verse and chorus close each phrase with F moving to C, the plagal subdominant-to-tonic cadence, the “amen” move of hymns.
Choosing the plagal cadence instead of the strong V–I close gives Let It Be its benedictory, church-hymn character.
| Degree | Chord | Nashville | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | 1 | I |
| 2 | Dm | 2m | ii |
| 3 | Em | 3m | iii |
| 4 | F (Fmaj7, F6) | 4 (4maj7, 4-6) | IV |
| 5 | G | 5 | V |
| 6 | Am | 6m | vi |
| 7 | B° | 7° | vii° |
Chords sourced from a public transcription, in C major.
Reading the numbers: each is a scale degree in C. Plain = major, m = minor, maj7 = a major-seventh voicing, 4-6 = a sixth added to the 4 chord, slash chords show a bass tone under the chord. Here 1/5 (C/G) walks the bass from A (in Am) down to G, then to F for the plagal amen close.
Most chords (C, G, Am, F) are plain open triads. The two added-note voicings of the IV chord are shown below (low E to high e; x = mute).
Prose analysis of the C-major gospel-piano progression, the F voicing choices, and the plagal amen close.
Open Pollack mirror →Downloadable chord and key files (per-album zip that includes Let It Be).
Open Isophonics →Roman-numeral function and melody for the verse and chorus.
Open the song page →