Adele - Dont You Remember - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords A, D, G, E, B, E7, F, C Easy key F (capo 7)

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Capo 0

D           A        G
When will I see you again
              D                 A               G
You left with no goodbye, not a single word was said
   D             A        G
No final kiss to seal any sins
      D              A            G
I had no idea of the state we were in

                E                  E7
I know I have a fickle heart and a bitterness
      G                    A
And a wandering eye, and a heaviness in my head

                D   A  G            D   A  G
But don't you remember, don't you remember
                     D A G
The reason you loved me before
                  D   A       D   
Baby, please remember me once more
 
D                          A          G
When was the last time you thought of me
               D         A                 G
Or have you completely erased me from your memories
        D           A            G
I often think about where I went wrong
           D  A           G
The more I do, the less I know

                    E                  E7
But I know I have a fickle heart and a bitterness
      G                    A
And a wandering eye, and a heaviness in my head

                D   A  G            D   A  G
But don't you remember, don't you remember
                     D A G
The reason you loved me before
                  D   A       D   
Baby, please remember me once more

  F                     C
I gave you the space so you could breathe
          G
I kept my distance so you would be free
    F                       C
And hoped that you find the missing piece
   G
to bring you back to me

                E   B A             E   B  A
Why don't you remember, don't you remember
                     E B A
The reason you loved me before
                  E   B       E   
Baby, please remember me once more

E           B        A
When will I see you again

End of song Play again?

Adele - Dont You Remember Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Dont You Remember: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on A. 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)
#7 = G# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because C is heard 2 times while Am never appears and the major V chord points straight at Am. 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 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	2×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
V/V	D	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	18×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	8×
V7/vi	E7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	2×
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	2×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	18×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	—
V/ii	A	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	22×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—
V/iii	B	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	5×

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	—
V/iv	A	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	22×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
V/v	B	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	5×
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	2×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
IV	D	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	18×
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	8×
V7	E7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B · D	2×
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	2×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	18×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 8 different chords appear 77 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E / E7 is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. A, D, B act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×2

The move to watch is F → C, heard 2 times. From the C side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Am side it is VI → 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 A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — 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.
When E comes, swap the scale's G for G#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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 up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is A, D, G, E — V/ii–V/V–V–V/vi from the C side, V/iv–IV–VII–V from the Am side. A is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V/ii), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V/iv) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on F → C (IV → I in C, VI → III in Am): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is A; the ear comes to rest in C.

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.