(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life | Chords + Lyrics
Chorus 1
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
Now I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt like this before.
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
Yes I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you.
| E | C#m7 | D | D | E | E | E | E |
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life and I owe it all to you.
Verse 1
| D | D | E | E Esus4 E |
I’ve been waiting for so long now I’ve finally found someone to stand by me.
| D | D | E | E |
We saw the writing on the wall as we felt this magical fantasy.
| D | D | E | E |
Now with passion in our eyes, there’s no way we could disguise it secretly.
| D | D | E | E |
So we take each other’s hand ’cause we seem to understand the urgency. Just remember!
Bridge 1
| A | A | G | G |
You’re the one thing I can’t get enough of.
| A | A | B | B |
So I’ll tell you something, this could be love, because.
Chorus 2
| 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 | E | E | D | D N.C |
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth and I owe it all to you. Hey, baby!
Verse 2
| D | D | E | E Esus4 E |
With my body and soul, I want you more than you’ll ever know.
| D | D | E | E |
So we’ll just let it go don’t be afraid to lose control, no.
| D | D | E | E |
Yes, I know what’s on your mind when you say, “Stay with me tonight” (stay with me). Just remember!
Bridge 2
| A | A | G | G |
You’re the one thing I can’t get enough of.
| A | A | Bsus4 | B |
So I’ll tell you something, this could be love, because.
Chorus 3
| 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.
Chorus 4
| 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 | E | E | D | D | Bm7 B11 |
‘Til I found the truth and I owe it all to you.
Solo
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
| F#dim G Am | Bm C D |
Chorus 5
| 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 6
| E | C#m7 | D | D |
I’ve had the time of my life, no I never felt this way before (never felt this way).
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth (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 (I’ve had the time of my life) and I’ve searched through every open door.
| E | C#m7 | D | Bm7 |
‘Til I found the truth and I owe it all to you.
The Time Of My Life’s chords and progressions
The chord progression is very interesting. Starting off with the super common minor fall, I – VI in the key of E, the next chord, a D, is very unexpected. If the key is E, this makes the D a bVIIc chord.
Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s repeated so many times that it feels natural in the end.
As the verse starts, we move between E and D. This makes it feel as if we are in the key of A, and maybe that first progression was actually V – III – IV.
Things get even more confusing as we hit the bridge. Now we get A – G, as if we are playing a IV – V, in the key of D!
Finally, we move A – B, and now we feel as if we were in the key of E after all.
All this stuff is called modal interchange. It’s a great way to keep the interest up.
The final variation happens towards the end of the song when we add a Bm7. Now the progression is E – C#m7 – D – Bm7.
If we are in the key of A, then these four chords are diatonic. If we are in the key of E, the D is bVII and Bm7 is a Vm chord.
To be certain what key the chord progression is in for each section, you’d have to work out what intervals the vocal melody is using.
In general, when it comes to learning guitar and more about music, you must always dig deep like this.
The Time Of My Life and Dirty Dancing
(I’ve had) The Time Of My Life is a song made famous by featuring in the film Dirty Dancing (another song featured in the film is Be My Baby).
Performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, both not just great singers but also writers, they surprisingly didn’t actually write (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.
Instead, there are three less well-known writers behind this classic, Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz.
The film actually had a very low budget and struggled to be made at all. Patrick Swayze initially turned it down, and so did the writers for the song.
Having a chaotic production, the final scene, where the two main characters dance to (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, was actually filmed with the demo playing. The final version, with Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, hadn’t even been recorded yet!
In the end, Dirty Dancing had an enormous impact on popular culture, becoming the first VHS to sell over one million copies.
The film made Patrick Swayze a movie star, and the song which captured the film perfectly ended up getting an Academy Award, as well as a Golden Globe, and a Grammy!
The Time Of My Life chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
- A Night To Remember chords
- The Best chords
- Build Me Up Buttercup chords
- Don’t Stop Me Now chords
- Faith chords
The Righteous Brothers
Releasing their first album in 1963, The Righteous Brothers became one of the world’s best-known duos.
Hits include You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ and Unchained Melody, and later, Bill Medley’s (I’ve Had The) Time Of My Life.
The Righteous Brothers on the web
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes was in the cast for the musical Hair, sang BV’s for Leonard Cohen, and duets with Joe Cocker and Bill Medley.
Her best tunes include Famous Blue Raincoat, (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, Up Where We Belong, and First We Take Manhattan.
Jennifer Warnes on the web
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.
