We are the Champions

Analysis
Nick Homes

Contents

1. Lead Sheet + Chord symbols

2. Roman numeral analysis
3. Piano written Voicings
4. Bar by Bar analysis

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1. Lead Sheet + Chord Symbols

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2. Roman numeral analysis

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3. Melody + Notated Piano chords

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 4. Bar by bar analysis

A section - 8 bars long

Bars 1-8. Key of C minor (relative minor to Eb major)
The chords are I minor (C minor) to chord V minor7 (G-7)
(Notice there is no 6th referenced in this first section, A or Ab in C minor)

The G-7 chord is less stark than a regular G minor triad.

This chord can also be thought of as a Bb major triad over a G bass-
a powerful muscular chord frequently used popular music.
This vamp progression of I minor to V-7 is heard
in James Brown’s “It’s a man’s man’s world” and Alicia Keys “Fallin’”

B section (9 bars long)

Bars 9-17
This section starts abruptly in the new key of Eb major without preparation.
So this is a direct modulation.
This movement from C Minor to Eb Major is a bit like going from being in dark room
to one with light!
Eb major is the relative major to the previous C minor.
This B section again starts with a 2 bar chord vamp over which the melody is hung.
Chords Eb to Ab. I to IV major in Eb major. Both chords over an Eb pedal.
The effect of this pedal is homogenising and regal.
The mood would be quite different if the bass had played Eb and Ab marking the
roots of the chords. That would have been fine, but some what obvious.
At bar 13 this 2 chord vamp comes to an end when the band enters forcefully punctuating
the chords Eb, Bb in first inversion to C minor.
In Bar 14 an F major chord is heard as the melody moves up to a non diatonic A natural.
This F chord is the V dominant chord of Bb major (Bb major is the dominant of Eb)
This is a modulation therefore from Eb in bar 13 to Bb major in bar 15.
The effect is uplifting, as the key is changing from (Eb) 3 flats to (Bb) 2 flats.
This modulation however to Bb in bar 15 is short-lived.

In bars 16-17 there is a series of interesting chords that lead triumphantly up in bar 18
to the new tonality of F major.
In bar 16 the Ab over Bb can be thought of as a Bb7sus 4 chord.
The Bb7#11 chord contains an E natural which leads up to the F in the next Bb9 chord.
This is not all, as at the end of bar 17 there is another surprise, a move up a tone from
Bb7 to C7.
Note the melody note is always punctuating the same melody note C, whilst the chords move
below in bars 16 and 17.
This C7 chord is the dominant V7 chord of the new tonality, F major.
So in the space of just a few bars, the piece has modulated up from Eb, to Bb to F
(Cycle of fourths movement)
This F major chord feels triumphant after the build up of the previous keys.

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C section bar 18

After the lush tenser previous chords of bar 16 and 17,

the restful plain F major triad of bar 18 feels like we have arrived at a totally different moment,
and we have ! The Chorus of the song.
The chord movement from bar 18 to 19 from F to A- is chord I to III- in F major.
In bar 18-19 the melody is very similar to the opening Bassoon theme of
‘The Rite of Spring’ by Stravinsky.

Most of the melody notes in we are the Champions are also chord tones.
The notable exceptions are bars 16+17 and bars 29 and 31.
At bar 22 the melody and chords of bars 18 and 19 are repeated, but this time the melody
ascends accompanied at bar 24 by the Bb triad.
The chord movement F to A- to Bb is the same as in ‘What a wonderful World’.
I to III- to IV major.
In bar 25 there is an emotional moment. The chord is D over F# , (D first inversion)
In bar 25 we hear the guitar play an Eb the flat 9 of D7 moving down to D, which adds
movement and more emotion.
This D chord in first inversion is the V7 secondary dominant of G- (II- in F major) in bar 26.
At bar 26 the layered vocal harmonies mark clearly a G dorian sound
when the C of the melody is harmonised with an E natural.
At bar 27 this dorian is re-enforced further with the C7 over G chord.
At bar 28 we hear a Bb-6 chord the IV- chord that is so emotive in music.
In bar 28 Freddy Mercury sings an A natural, the major 7th of Bb minor. This is
a pungent , emotive sound, uncommon in rock music.
In bar 29 we hear an incredibly rich sound: G-7b5 over an E bass with an A natural in the
melody.
This chord is very similar to the previous Bb-6 chord with the major 7 melody note-
as it shares common notes G,Bb, Db and F.
The notes of this chord can be discerned more readily from listening to the version
of the song with isolated vocals that can be found on Youtube.
The second chord of bar 29 the G diminished 7 can be thought of as a substitute for C7b9.
Apart from the C root note the notes of the 2 chords are the same ( E, G, Bb Db).
This is an unstable chord that resolves to the F major in bar 30
These 2 chords in Bar 29 therefore can be thought of as a modified colourful
II- V cadence to F major.

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Section D starts in F major at bar 30.

At bar 31 the Eb add9 chord in first inversion can be analysed as a transitional

chord to the next tonality F- (dorian) in bar 35 via the chords in bars 32 to 35.
This Eb first inversion chord can be analysed in 2 ways:
a) bVII in F b) as Ib in Ebmajor .
The reason this is not a direct modulation to Eb major in bar 31 is because this Eb
chord is on the move, it does not sound like the tonic chord, perhaps as the melody note is A ,
the #11. (This is Eb major is not a dominant chord by the way!)
Note, in Bars 31 to 34 the bass line is ascending, and that these chords are
diatonic to Ebmajor.
In bar 32 the Ab6 can be analysed as IV in Ebmajor
Bar 33 the Bb7 as V7 and Bar 34 the C-11 as VI-11.
Bar 31 the melody is an echo of bar 30 with different harmony.
Bar 33 the melody is an echo of bar 32 with different harmony.

Section E starts at bar 35

At bar 35 this last section sounds fresh and clear to the ear as this is the first time we have heard
an F- minor chord in the piece and it strikes the listener as new + this section is punctuated by the
fact that the drums, guitar and bass stop playing at this point!
This 6 bar section actually functions as a 6 bar interlude that prepares the listener for the return to
the A section.
It is the only section of the tune with the voice (apart from the long held last note of the previous
section)
Again like sections A and B there are 2 chords over a pedal. This time the pedal is F and the chords
are F minor and G-7.
This is a clear F Dorian sound confirmed by the presence of the D natural , the natural 6th of F mi-
nor.

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