Twenty One Pilots - House of Gold - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, F, G, Am, A7, Dm, Bbm Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C
She asked me, "Son, when I grow old,

Will you buy me a house of gold?

And when your father turns to stone,

Will you take care of me?"
 
    C                    F
She asked me, "Son, when I grow old,
     Am           G
Will you buy me a house of gold
    C                F
And when your father turns to stone,
     C        G       C
Will you take care of me?"
 
F      A7
I will make you
Dm       Bbm            F
Queen of everything you see
                    C
I'll put you on the map
                 F       C
I'll cure you of disease

      C             F
Let's say we up and left this town
     Am               G
And turned our future upside-down
      C                 F
We'll make pretend that you and me
      C     G     C
Lived ever after, happily

    C                    F
She asked me, "Son, when I grow old,
     Am           G
Will you buy me a house of gold
    C                F
And when your father turns to stone,
     C        G       C
Will you take care of me?"

F      A7
I will make you
Dm       Bbm            F
Queen of everything you see
                    C
I'll put you on the map
                 F       C
I'll cure you of disease

    C                  F
And since we know that dreams are dead
    Am                  G
And life turns plans up on their head
C              F
I will plan to be a bum
   C      G       C
So I just might become someone

    C                    F
She asked me, "Son, when I grow old,
     Am           G
Will you buy me a house of gold
    C                F
And when your father turns to stone,
     C        G       C
Will you take care of me?"

F      A7
I will make you
Dm       Bbm            F
Queen of everything you see
                    C
I'll put you on the map
                 F
I'll cure you of disease

End of song Play again?

Twenty One Pilots - House of Gold Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Twenty One Pilots – House of Gold: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on F. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = B (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = F (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C major side because it opens on C and C is heard 26 times against 5 for Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from A minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; 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.

Seen from C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	26×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	3×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	19×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	10×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	5×
V7/ii	A7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	3×
bvii	Bbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F	3×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	5×
V7/iv	A7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	3×
bii	Bbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F	3×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	26×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	3×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	19×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	10×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 7 different chords appear 69 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. A7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×10
F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×10
F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×5
A7 Dm CV7/ii → iisecondary resolution AmV7/iv → iv ×3

The move to watch is G → C, heard 10 times. From the C side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Am side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is C, F, G, Am — I–IV–V–vi from the C side, III–VI–VII–i from the Am side. A7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dm. Keep an ear on G → C (V → I in C, VII → III in Am): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. It closes on F, letting the C side have the last word.

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.