Taylor Swift - Clean - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords F, C, G, Am Easy key B (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C  G  Am  F

C      G                   Am      F
 The drought was the very worst, ah, ah
C           G                 Am            F
 When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst
C         G                             Am       F
 It was months, and months of back and forth
C                 G               Am                         F
 You're still all over me like a wine stained dress I can't wear anymore

  G                F                      G                    F
 Hung my head as I lost the war, and the sky turn black like a perfect storm

  C          G      Am
 Rain came pouring down when I was drowning
   F                            C
 That's when I could finally breathe
         G        Am                        F                      C
 And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean
 
C           G                  Am      F
 There was nothing left to do
C          G                     Am                F
 When the butterflies turned to dust that covered my whole room
C       G                        Am      F
 So I punched a hole in the roof
C           G          Am            F
 Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you

      G                F                   G               F
 The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing

  C          G      Am
 Rain came pouring down when I was drowning
   F                            C
 That's when I could finally breathe
         G        Am                        F                      C
 And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean
 G                      Am      F
 I think I am finally clean
C     G                      Am      F
 Said I think I am finally clean

  C
 10 months sober, I must admit
  F
 Just because you're clean don't mean you don't miss it
  C
 10 months older I won't give in
  F
 Now that I'm clean I'm never gonna risk it
C      G                   Am      F
 The drought was the very worst, ah, ah
C           G                 Am            F
 When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst

  C          G      Am
 Rain came pouring down when I was drowning
   F                            C
 That's when I could finally breathe
         G        Am                        F
 And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean
  C          G      Am
 Rain came pouring down when I was drowning
   F                            C
 That's when I could finally breathe
         G        Am                        F                      C
 And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean
G          Am      F
 Finally clean
                     C      G      Am
 Think I'm finally clean
F                     C
 Think I'm finally clean

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Clean Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Clean: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between E major and C# minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to E or to C#m; 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 E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	—
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	29×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
bIII	G	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	G · B · D	27×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
III	G#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	—
iv	Am	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	A · C · E	23×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	—
bVI	C	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	27×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	—
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	—
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	—
#III	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	29×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
#IV	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	27×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V	G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D#	—
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	—
vi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	23×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	—
#VII	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	27×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 4 different chords appear 106 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F, C, G, Am are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

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

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. F, C, G, Am carry the song: bII–bVI–bIII–iv relative to E, #III–#VII–#IV–vi relative to C#m. F briefly darkens the picture: neapolitan bii — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonic. It closes on C, letting the E 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.