Major view
F major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = E (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = Bb (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes - Chord
Key F major – D minor Chords F, Dm, Bb, C, Am, A, Bbm Easy key C (capo 5)
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Key: F | Dm
Capo: 0
Bb F Dm C
Bb F Dm Am
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Bb F
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Dm Am
Always had high, high hopes
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
Bb F
I was gonna be that one in a million
Dm Am
Always had high, high hopes
Bb F
Mama said, fulfill the prophecy
Dm C
Be something greater, go make a legacy
Bb F
Manifest destiny, back in the days
Dm Am
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Bb F
Mama said, burn your biographies
Dm
Rewrite your history
C
Light up your wildest dreams
Bb F
Museum victories, everyday
Dm
We wanted everything, wanted everything
F A Dm Bbm
Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
F A Dm Bbm
All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Bb F
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Dm Am
Always had high, high hopes
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
Bb F
I was gonna be that one in a million
Dm
Always had high, high hopes
Bb F
Mama said, it's uphill for oddities
Dm C
The stranger crusaders, ain't ever wannabes
Bb
The weird and the novelties
F
Don't ever change
Dm Am
We wanted everything, wanted everything
Bb F
Stay up on that rise
Dm C
Stay up on that rise and never come down
Bb F
Stay up on that rise
Dm
Stay up on that rise and never come down
F A Dm Bbm
Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated
F A Dm Bbm
All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting
F A Dm Bbm
They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me e e e
F A Dm Bbm
So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see e e e
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Bb F
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Dm Am
Always had high, high hopes
Bb F
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Dm C
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
Bb F
I was gonna be that one in a million
Dm Am
Always had high, high hopes
End of song Play again?
Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes: key and chord analysis
The song opens on Bb and ends on Am. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
D minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
- #7 = C# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D minor side because the major V chord points straight at Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from F major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.
Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | F | Tonic — home | F · A · C | 28× |
| ii | Gm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G · Bb · D | — |
| iii | Am | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | A · C · E | 8× |
| V/vi | A | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant | A · C# · E | 6× |
| IV | Bb | Subdominant — moves away from home | Bb · D · F | 22× |
| iv | Bbm | Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | Bb · Db · F | 6× |
| V | C | Dominant — strongest pull home | C · E · G | 11× |
| vi | Dm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | D · F · A | 28× |
| vii° | Edim | Leading-tone chord — tension | E · G · Bb | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Dm | Tonic — home | D · F · A | 28× |
| ii° | Edim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · Bb | — |
| III | F | Relative major — the bright side | F · A · C | 28× |
| iv | Gm | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · Bb · D | — |
| v | Am | Minor dominant — soft pull | A · C · E | 8× |
| V | A | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | A · C# · E | 6× |
| VI | Bb | Submediant — warm colour | Bb · D · F | 22× |
| vi | Bbm | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | Bb · Db · F | 6× |
| VII | C | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | C · E · G | 11× |
Analysis
The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 7 different chords appear 109 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm. Bbm is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
- Bb F FIV → Iplagal cadence DmVI → III ×22
- A Dm FV/vi → vi DmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×6
- Bbm F Fiv → Iminor plagal Dmvi → III ×4
The move to watch is Bb → F, heard 22 times. From the Dm side it is VI → III; from the F side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
- Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Bb, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- When A comes, swap the scale's C for C#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
- On Bbm, follow the chord's notes (Bb · Db · F) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.
The song on the circle of fifths
- Played in the song — chord of the key
- Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
- Played — borrowed or outside chord
- Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii
Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.
Capo and easier keys
With F major shapes
- Capo 1 + E shapes
- Capo 3 + D shapes
- Capo 5 + C shapes
With D minor shapes
- No capo — open Dm shapes
- Capo 5 + Am shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
- 2 semitones up
The song's harmonic story
Starting on Bb, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is F, Dm, Bb, C — I–vi–IV–V from the F side, III–i–VI–VII from the Dm side. A is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bb → F (IV → I in F, VI → III in Dm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is Am; the ear comes to rest in F.
This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.
Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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