The Beatles · from Let It Be (Jan 1969) · McCartney composition
A study in the delayed-tonic ballad and a descending inversion bass line.
The song begins on 6m (Bm) instead of 1, delaying the tonic (D) for four chords. Underneath the harmony a stepwise descending bass line (D, C, B, A, then A rising to D through E) threads all seven diatonic chords together, giving the verse its winding shape.
The home key is E-flat major, but the band played it in the shape of D major with a capo on the first fret, so the theory reads easier in D.
Instead of starting on the home chord D, the song opens on Bm, a minor chord that is 6 steps up from home. That is called a delayed-tonic opening; it makes the song feel like it is already in the middle of a thought.
Underneath the chords the bass note walks down step by step: D, C, B, A. Each step supports a different chord shape, which is why the verse feels like it is winding somewhere.
The pre-tonic move is unusual: instead of a plain A7 (the 5-chord), the song plays G over A (the 4-chord riding on the 5-bass). That gives the arrival at D a softer, dreamier pull than a plain 5-to-1.
To see the exact chords and key, open Pollack or Isophonics.
The band played the song in D-major shapes with a capo on the first fret, so the sounding key is E♭ major. The harmonic analysis is clearest in D because every chord shape (D, G, A, Bm, Em, F#m) is a plain diatonic triad or seventh in D.
No modulation, no borrowed chord, no key change anywhere in the song. The winding motion is all inside D major.
The song opens on Bm (6m) instead of D (1). Tonic does not arrive until the fourth chord of the phrase.
Starting on 6m is a classic ballad move that makes the first line feel already in-progress; when D finally arrives it feels like a resolution to a question that was never asked out loud.
Under the verse the bass line steps down: D (over D), C (under D/C), B (root of G in first inversion or plain G/B), A (root of A or Bm/A). That descent is what threads the diatonic chords together and gives the song its title-fitting shape.
The D/C sonority is the one chromatic touch: C natural is the ♭7 of D, borrowed for a moment to smooth the descent to G.
Instead of a plain A7 (5(7)) approaching D (1), the song uses G/A: the G triad (the 4-chord) sung over an A bass (the 5-note). That sonority is a suspended dominant, an A11 without the third.
The 4-over-5 approach chord replaces the sharp V-I pull with a softer, more diatonic-sounding arrival on tonic, which fits the reflective mood of the ballad.
The bridge runs D/F# (1 in first inversion), G (4), F#m7 (3m), Em7 (2m), A7 (5(7)), D (1), then G, F#m7, Em7, A7 for the ii-V approach back to the verse.
The bridge palette is identical to the verse (all diatonic to D), but the arc is shorter: eight bars instead of sixteen. The 2m-5-1 close (Em7, A7, D) is the plainest V-I of the entire song, contrasting the verse's softer G/A approach.
| Degree | Chord | Nashville | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D (D7 as V/IV) | 1 (1(7)) | I |
| 2 | Em7 | 2m7 | ii7 |
| 3 | F#m7 | 3m7 | iii7 |
| 4 | G | 4 | IV |
| 5 | A (A7) | 5 (5(7)) | V (V7) |
| 6 | Bm | 6m | vi |
Chords sourced from a public transcription, in D shapes (sounding E♭ with capo 1).
Reading the numbers: each is a scale degree in D (sounding E♭ with capo 1). Plain = major, m = minor, m7 = minor seventh, (7) = dominant seventh. Slashes show inversions or pedal bass: 4/5 = the 4-chord over a 5-bass, 6m/5 = the 6m chord over a 5-bass, 1/♭7 = tonic with a chromatic ♭7 in the bass, 1/3 = tonic in first inversion.
The non-obvious voicings and inversions (low E to high e; x = mute).
Prose analysis of the delayed-tonic opening, the descending bass line, and the diatonic palette.
Open Pollack mirror →Downloadable chord and key files (per-album zip that includes The Long and Winding Road).
Open Isophonics →Roman-numeral function and melody for the verse and bridge.
Open the song page →