The I-V-IV Progression

The I-V-IV progression, which reverses the "IV" and the "V" chords, was used to write such songs as The Eagles' Take It Easy verse (1972).

Chord Substitutions:

Below is a well-crafted song created by applying chord substitutions to the "I-V-IV" Progression.

E-B-Aadd9 = Heart Of The Matter verse (1990)

I-V-IV-I Variations:

Examples of the "I-V-IV-I" variation include Can't You Hear My Heartbeat verse (1965), Green Tambourine verse (1968), Fortunate Son chorus (1969), And It Stoned Me verse (1969), Go Your Own Way verse (1977), and I Think We're Alone Now chorus (1987).

Tommy James' chorus to I Think We're Alone takes the "I-V-IV" Rock Progression and adds an additional "I" chord after the "V" chord, creating the chord progression below.