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 Chords: Unveiling the Unexpected Progressions
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 — head to the lesson here: (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
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 | Course Preview
In the course, we work on how to play all sections of this classic, including the intro keyboard chords on the guitar, the arpeggiated line at the end of the solo and strange sounding scale at the end of the breakdown.
As a preview, here’s a way you could combine the various guitar parts in the verse.
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
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
