Chords + Lyrics | (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life
Intro
||: E | C#m7 | Dadd9 | Dadd9 :|| x3
Now I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt like this before.
Yes I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you.
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life and I owe it all to you.
Instrumental 1
| E | E | E | E |
Verse 1
| D/E | D/E | E | E (Esus4) |
I’ve been waiting for so long now I’ve finally found someone to stand by me.
| D/E | D/E | E | Esus4 |
We saw the writing on the wall as we felt this magical fantasy.
| D/E | D/E | E E6 E | Eadd9 E Esus2 E Esus4 E |
Now with passion in our eyes, there’s no way we could disguise it secretly.
| D/E | D/E | E | E (Esus4) |
So we take each other’s hand ’cause we seem to understand the urgency. Just remember!
Bridge 1
| A6 A | A | Gsus4 | G |
You’re the one thing I can’t get enough of.
| A6 A | A | Bsus4 | B |
So I’ll tell you something, this could be love, because.
Chorus 1
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
I’ve had the time of my life, no I’ve never felt this way before.
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you.
Instrumental 2
| E | E | D | D N.C |
Hey, baby!
Verse 2
With my body and soul, I want you more than you’ll ever know.
So we’ll just let it go don’t be afraid to lose control, no.
Yes, I know what’s on your mind when you say, “Stay with me tonight” (stay with me). And remember!
Bridge 2
You’re the one thing I can’t get enough of.
So I’ll tell you something, this could be love, because.
Chorus 2 (double)
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt this way before.
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
Yes, I swear (yes I swear), it’s the truth and I owe it all to you.
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life and I’ve searched through every open door.
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 B11 |
‘Til I found the truth and I owe it all to you.
Instrumental 3
| E | E | D | D | Bm7 B11 |
Solo
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
| F#dim G Am | Bm C D |
Chorus 3 (breakdown)
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
Now I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt this way before (never felt this way).
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 B11 |
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you.
Chorus 4 (as chorus 2)
I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt this way before (never felt this way).
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth (it’s the truth) and I owe it all to you.
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life (I’ve had the time of my life) and I’ve searched through every open door.
‘Til I found the truth and I owe it all to you.
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life. I’ve used stem-seperation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 447Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The progression in (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life is surprisingly inventive. The intro starts with the familiar minor fall (I – VI), but then takes an unexpected turn to D. In the key of E, this makes D a bVIIx chord — unusual, yet repeated often enough to eventually feel natural.
Verse
As the verse begins, we move between D/E and E, weaving in extensions of E as licks. This subtly gives the impression of a IV – V progression in the key of A, making the opening movement feel more like V – III – IV instead.
Bridge
Harmonically, things become even more ambiguous in the bridge as we move to A – G, as if we’re now playing IV – V in the key of D.
Finally, we land on A – B, which re-centres the ear and confirms we are, after all, still in E. This type of shift is a great example of modal interchange — a brilliant way to keep a progression engaging and unpredictable.
Chorus
The chorus reflects the intro, just without the add9 extension. Toward the end, we introduce a Bm7 every other time:
||: E | C#m7 | D | D (Bm7) :||
In later choruses, a brief B11 appears as well.
Seen through the lens of A major, all chords are diatonic. But in E major, D becomes bVIIx and Bm7 functions as a Vm chord — more modal colour in action.
So What Key Is It Actually In?
With progressions like this, it’s easy to ask: What key are we really in?
The answer: E — with a bag of tasteful borrowed tricks.
To get TAB for all sections — including what to play if you’ve managed to fire the keyboard player — look further down this guitar lesson.
Once you can play the TAB, all you’ll need as a reminder is the chord chart.
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart as a static PDF or in the more flexible iReal Pro format, which is how it was created.
Download options:
If you choose the iReal Pro version, you can adjust the layout into a two-page chart—and feel pretty smug about displaying (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’s chords better than I did.
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life | TAB
Let’s work through each section of this wedding-band staple — including how to cover the keyboard parts — starting with the intro.
Intro
If you’ve successfully got rid of the keyboard player, the price you pay is covering their parts. Here’s what I’d play shortly after disposing of the body.
Notice how we stop on beat one in bar four and simply hold the chord. As the first instrumental enters, I blend both guitar parts — nail this and your bandmates will be impressed.
Verse
In the verse, we join and answer the bass. Every four bars, we add a lick — later variations included — and I’ve also brought in some string-style lines.
Bridge
Once again, we’re covering the mysteriously absent keyboard player while still maintaining the original guitar parts, as if nothing unusual has happened.
Chorus
The chorus is full of picked guitar and string lines — a big production you’re not going to recreate live.
If you still have a keyboard player and they insist on playing faux-string patches, it will sound like processed cheese. So hit the crunch and simplify — play this:
Or try this version with crunch and chorus, or your modulation effect of choice:
Instrumental 2
The second instrumental section varies the octave riff from the verse.
Solo end
The chords at the end of the solo are arpeggiated triads played in a 3-against-4 feel.
Breakdown end
The end of the breakdown uses E Mixolydian, starting on D. Previously I notated the groups of three 16ths or dotted quavers with ties — here I write dotted quavers throughout. Which do you prefer?
When you can play all this TAB, return to the chords + TAB lesson and play along with the original.
Dirty Dancing
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life became famous after featuring in the film Dirty Dancing (another notable song from the soundtrack is Be My Baby).
Performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes—both acclaimed singers and songwriters—they surprisingly didn’t write The Time of My Life. Instead, the song was penned by three lesser-known writers: Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz.
The film itself had a low budget and faced several production challenges. Patrick Swayze initially turned down the role, and even the songwriters were reluctant to contribute.
During the chaotic filming process, the iconic final dance scene was shot with just the demo version of the song—the final recording with Medley and Warnes hadn’t even been made yet!
Despite these hurdles, Dirty Dancing became a cultural phenomenon, making history as the first VHS to sell over a million copies. The film turned Patrick Swayze into a Hollywood star, and the song—perfectly capturing the spirit of the story—went on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy.
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Chords: Continue Learning
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