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6.11.8 "Sundown" Chords, with ♭VII Chromatic Chord, but Reversed
In “Sundown,” as the chord map below reveals (Figure 98), Lightfoot uses this chromatic progression:
IV – ♭VII – I
In his “Carefree Highway,” as you saw a little while back, the direction was the reverse:
I – ♭VII – IV
In the example below, the particular ♭VII chord in "Sundown" is the chord D major. (The song was recorded in the key of F♯ major, with the capo on the second fret. So it was played with E major shapes, making the D shape the ♭VII chord.)
FIGURE 98: Chord Map of “Sundown” (Words and Music by Gordon Lightfoot, 1974)
As with “Carefree Highway,” the chromatic chord (found, again, in the chorus) is the essential attention-getting harmony in “Sundown.”