The B-52's · 1979
Rock Lobster
9 notes across the harmonic analysis · 4 different passage shapes.
Chord-derived pitch classes, after David Temperley. The melody and other unannotated notes are not included. Method & limits
All annotated harmonies combined
Whole analysis
Circle 895 · 9 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G♭ · G · A♭ · B♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This combines notes across time; compare the passages below to see where the field changes.
Source passage · In
Intro
Circle 623 · 7 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · Vr
Verse
Circle 623 · 7 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · Ch
Chorus
Circle 887 · 8 notes
C · D · E♭ · G♭ · G · A♭ · B♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · BP
Passage BP
Circle 623 · 7 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · Vr2
Verse 2
Circle 623 · 7 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B
Does not fit inside one diatonic scale. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · Br
Bridge
Circle 127 · 7 notes
C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭
Fits within a diatonic collection; no tonic is implied. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source passage · Co
Coda
Circle 19 · 3 notes
C · F · A♭
Fits within a diatonic collection; no tonic is implied. This field belongs to this passage, not necessarily the whole song.
Source & interpretation
David Temperley’s harmonic analysis of Rock Lobster ↗, from the de Clercq–Temperley RS 200 corpus. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
The complete field includes all harmonies in the source’s S rule. The passages are its named top-level units; direct chords outside those units still contribute to the whole field. Repeated units with the same notes are merged. Labels such as “Passage A” preserve the source where a conventional section name is not given.
Notes and circle assignments are calculated by Chordfields from that analysis. They have not been independently verified against the recording. Read the full method.