Madonna - Take A Bow - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords F, Bbm7, Db, Gm7, F7/Eb, Dm7, F/C, G9/B … Easy key C (capo 5)

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Capo 0

 
F               F7/Eb 
   Take a bow, the night is over 
      Dm7           Db 
   This masquerade is getting older 
F/C               G9/B 
   Light are low, the curtains down 
    Bbm7   F/A 
   There's no one here 
            Gm7                 C7sus             F 
   {There's no one here, there's no one in the crowd} 
                     F7/Eb 
   Say your lines but do you feel them 
Dm7                        Db 
   Do you mean what you say when there's no one around {no one around} 
F/C            G9/B          Bbm7  F/A 
   Watching you, watching me, one lonely star 
         Gm7            C7sus                F 
   {One lonely star you don't know who you are} 
 
                                  F 
   I've always been in love with you {always with you} 
                                     Gm7 
   I guess you've always known it's true {you know it's true} 
 
   You took my love for granted, why oh why 
C7                             F 
   The show is over, say good bye 
    Db    Gm7/C            F      Db       Gm7/C 
   Say       good bye {bye bye}, say good bye 
 

   Bbm7                      F 
   All the world is a stage {world is a stage} 
       Bbm7                 F 
   And everyone has their part {has their part} 
       Bbm7             F              D7 
   But how was I to know which way the story'd go? 
   Gm7 
   How was I to know you'd break 
             C7 
   {You'd break, you'd break, you'd break} 
                     F              Fmaj7 
   You'd break my heart?

End of song Play again?

Madonna - Take A Bow Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – Take A Bow: key and chord analysis

The song opens on F and ends on Fmaj7. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.

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)

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F major side because it both starts and finishes on F and F is heard 17 times against 2 for Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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.

Seen from F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	10×
I	F/C	Tonic — home	F · A · C	2×
I	F/A	Tonic — home	F · A · C	2×
Imaj7	Fmaj7	Tonic — home	F · A · C · E	1×
V7/IV	F7/Eb	Secondary dominant V/IV — leads to Bbsecondary dominant	F · A · C · Eb	2×
ii7	Gm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D · F	4×
ii7	Gm7/C	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D · F	2×
V7/V	G9/B	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Csecondary dominant	G · B · D · F · A	2×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	—
V/vi	A	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	—
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	—
iv7	Bbm7	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Bb · Db · F · Ab	5×
V7sus4	C7sus	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · F · G · Bb	2×
V7	C7	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G · Bb	2×
bVI	Db	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Db · F · Ab	4×
vi7	Dm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A · C	2×
V7/ii	D7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	1×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Dm7	Tonic — home	D · F · A · C	2×
V7/iv	D7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	1×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	10×
III	F/C	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	2×
III	F/A	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	2×
IIImaj7	Fmaj7	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C · E	1×
V7/VI	F7/Eb	Secondary dominant V/VI — leads to Bbsecondary dominant	F · A · C · Eb	2×
iv7	Gm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D · F	4×
iv7	Gm7/C	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D · F	2×
IV7	G9/B	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	G · B · D · F · A	2×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	—
V	A	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E	—
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	—
vi7	Bbm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F · Ab	5×
VII7sus4	C7sus	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · F · G · Bb	2×
VII7	C7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G · Bb	2×
#VII	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	4×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 14 different chords appear 41 times in total; 9 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F7/Eb, G9/B, D7 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Bbm7, Db are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Bbm7 F Fiv7 → Iminor plagal Dmvi7 → III ×3
C7sus F FV7sus4 → Iauthentic cadence DmVII7sus4 → III ×2
C7 F FV7 → Iauthentic cadence DmVII7 → III ×2
Bbm7 F/A Fiv7 → Iminor plagal Dmvi7 → III ×2
Gm7 C7sus Fii7 → V7sus4ii → V Dmiv7 → VII7sus4 ×2
Gm7 C7 Fii7 → V7ii → V Dmiv7 → VII7 ×2

The move to watch is Bbm7 → F, heard 3 times. From the F side it reads iv7 → I (minor plagal: a bittersweet arrival with a borrowed iv); from the Dm side it is vi7 → III. 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 Bbm7, land on Bb, Db, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Db, land on Db, F, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Bbm7, follow the chord's notes (Bb · Db · F · Ab) 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

The first chord is F; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are F, Bbm7, Db, Gm7; read them as I–iv7–bVI–ii7 in F or III–vi7–#VII–iv7 in Dm. F7/Eb adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/IV — leads to Bb. Keep an ear on Bbm7 → F (iv7 → I in F, vi7 → III in Dm): minor plagal — a bittersweet arrival with a borrowed iv. It closes on Fmaj7, letting the F 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.