Adele - Skyfall - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords Cm, Ab, F, Fm/Ab, G, Cm/Bb, Ab/G, F/Eb … Easy key C#

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Capo 0

Cm

     Cm             Ab             Fm

     Cm     Ab   F
This is the end
 Fm/Ab                Cm       Ab  F
Hold your breath and count to ten
 Fm/Ab          Cm        Ab  F
Feel the Earth move and then
 Fm/Ab         G4     G
Hear my heart burst again

         Cm     Ab   F
For this is the end
       Fm/Ab                  Cm    Ab  F
I've drowned and dreamt this moment
   Fm/Ab     Cm    Ab  F
So overdue I owe them
  Fm/Ab           G4   G
Swept away I'm  stolen

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
     F/Eb   Dm   G
And face it all together

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
F/Eb        Dm
And face it all together
 G     Cm  Ab  F  Fm/Ab
At Skyfall
       Cm  Ab  F  Fm/Ab
At Skyfall

             Cm       Ab  F
Skyfall is where we start
    Fm/Ab             Cm     Ab   F
A thousand miles and poles apart
  Fm/Ab                   Cm       Ab
Where worlds collide and days are dark
                 F              Fm/Ab
You may have my number, you can take my name
 G4                    G
But you'll never have my heart

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
F/Eb        Dm    G
And face it all together

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
F/Eb        Dm
And face it all together
 G     Cm
At Skyfall

             Cm
Where you go I go
  Cm/Bb         Ab
What you see I see
    Ab/G     F                      Cm      Cm/Bb
I know i'll never be me without the security
      Ab
Your loving arms
 Ab/G    F          F/Eb
Keeping me from harm
        Dm
Put your hand in my hand
            G
And we'll stand

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
F/Eb        Dm     G
And face it all together

          Cm
Let the sky fall
  Cm/Bb   Ab
When it crumbles
 Ab/G     F
We will stand tall
F/Eb        Dm
And face it all together
G       Cm
At Skyfall

             Cm/Bb  Ab  Ab/G  F
Let the sky fall
    F/Eb       Dm
We will stand tall
G       Cm  Cm/Bb  Ab  Ab/G  F  G5+  G4
At skyfall

End of song Play again?

Adele - Skyfall Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Skyfall: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (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 A major and F# 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 A or to F#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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	—
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
biii	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	23×
biii	Cm/Bb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	9×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
III	C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
iv	Dm	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	D · F · A	8×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
bVI	F	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	20×
bvi	Fm/Ab	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	11×
bVI	F/Eb	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	8×
bvi	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	1×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
bVII	G	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	10×
bVII	G4	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	3×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—
VII	Ab	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · C · Eb	21×
VII	Ab/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · C · Eb	9×

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
bII	G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	10×
bII	G4	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	3×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
II	Ab	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · C · Eb	21×
II	Ab/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · C · Eb	9×
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	—
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
#iv	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	23×
#iv	Cm/Bb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	9×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
vi	Dm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A	8×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—
#VII	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	20×
#vii	Fm/Ab	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	11×
#VII	F/Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	8×
#vii	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	1×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 11 different chords appear 123 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F, G, F/Eb, Dm, G4 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

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

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones up
3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Cm lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Cm, Ab, F, Fm/Ab — biii–VII–bVI–bvi from the A side, #iv–II–#VII–#vii from the F#m side. F briefly darkens the picture: borrowed from the parallel minor. Ending on Dm, the song seals A as home.

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.