Adele - Turning Tables - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Ab, Cm7, Fm, Eb, Bb, Fm7 Easy key G

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Capo 0

Cm7  Ab  Fm  Ab

Cm7                          Ab
    Close enough to start a war
         Fm                 Ab
All that I have is on the floor
Cm7                                     Ab
    God only knows what we're fighting for
         Fm                     Ab
All that I say, you always say more

Ab                         Fm      Fm7
I can't keep up with your turning tables
       Ab                   Bb
Under your thumb, I can't breathe

   Cm7      Ab       Eb             Fm
So I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    Cm7     Ab        Eb            Fm
No, I won't ask you, you to just desert me
         Cm7  Ab             Eb       Bb
I can't give you, what you think you gave me
              Fm  Eb   Ab               Cm7
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables

Cm7                         Ab
     Under haunted skies I see, oooh
Fm                                       Ab
      Where love is lost, your ghost is found
Cm7                             Ab
     I braved a hundred storms to leave you
                 Fm                             Ab
As hard as you try, no I will never be knocked down

Ab                         Fm      Fm7
I can't keep up with your turning tables
       Ab                   Bb
Under your thumb, I can't breathe

   Cm7      Ab       Eb             Fm
So I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    Cm7     Ab        Eb            Fm
No, I won't ask you, you to just desert me
         Cm7   Ab            Eb       Bb
I can't give you, what you think you gave me
              Fm  Eb   Ab               Cm7
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables

 Cm7                      Ab
Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own saviour
  Eb                        Fm
When the thunder calls for me
 Cm7                      Ab
Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own saviour
  Eb                    Bb
Standing on my own two feet

   Cm7      Ab       Eb             Fm
So I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    Cm7     Ab        Eb            Fm
No, I won't ask you, you to just desert me
         Cm7  Ab             Eb       Bb
I can't give you, what you think you gave me
              Fm  Eb   Ab               Cm7
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables

End of song Play again?

Adele - Turning Tables Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Turning Tables: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cm7 and ends on Cm7. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C minor side because it both starts and finishes on Cm and Cm is heard 19 times against 14 for Eb. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb 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 Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	14×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	17×
ii7	Fm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C · Eb	2×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	28×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	6×
vi7	Cm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G · Bb	19×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Cm7	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G · Bb	19×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	14×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	17×
iv7	Fm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C · Eb	2×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	—
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	28×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	6×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 6 different chords appear 86 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

Ab Eb EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×11
Fm Cm7 Ebii → vi7 Cmiv → i7minor plagal ×7
Ab Cm7 EbIV → vi7 CmVI → i7VI → i ×6
Bb Cm7 EbV → vi7deceptive cadence CmVII → i7Aeolian arrival ×3
Ab Bb EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×2

The move to watch is Ab → Eb, heard 11 times. From the Cm side it is VI → III; from the Eb 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

Eb major pentatonic and C minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Eb – F – G – Bb – C): start from Eb for a brighter phrase, from C for a bluesier one.
Over Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Cm7, land on C, Eb, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Fm, land on F, Ab, C — 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 Eb major shapes

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones up
1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Cm7; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are Ab, Cm7, Fm, Eb; read them as IV–vi7–ii–I in Eb or VI–i7–iv–III in Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Ab → Eb (IV → I in Eb, VI → III in Cm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on Cm7, letting the Cm 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.