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6.10.12
“Midnight Train To Georgia” Chords: I - IIIm7 - IV - V

In "Midnight Train to Georgia," the main chord progression goes like this: I - IIIm7 - IV - V. The interesting thing about the chord progression of this song is that it avoids all fifths up progressions, even the ones to and from the tonic chord.(Figure 85):

Chord progression Chase chart for the 1973 hit song Midnight Train to Georgia recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and written by Jim Weatherly.

FIGURE 85: Chord Map of “Midnight Train To Georgia” (Words and Music by Jim Weatherly, 1973)

Both the verse and chorus are mapped on a single circular harmonic scale. It’s getting a tad cluttered. If you are doing a chord map and find it’s getting too filled up with arrows, break it up into two or three (or more) separate harmonic scale circles, each mapping the chords for a different section of the song. In this example, the chord map could well have been broken into two parts, one for the verse, the other for the chorus.

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