Adele - Hold On - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, G, Am, Fm, F Easy key A (capo 3)

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Capo 0

C G  Am    Fm
Ho  old on
C   G       Am           Fm
Yo  ou are still strong
C   G         Am        Fm
Lo  ove will soon come
     C   G       Am   Fm
Just ho  old, hold on

C                  G              Am
  Oh, what have I done yet again
             Fm
Have I not learned anything
C                  G            Am
  I don't want to live in chaos
                         Fm
It's like a ride that I want to get off
C                      G          Am
  It's hard to hold on to who I am
                           Fm
When I'm stumbling in the dark for a hand
C              G            Am
  I am so tired of battling
                      Fm
With myself, with no chance to win

C  G  Am

     Fm
Let time be patient
C    G       Am

    Fm
Let pain be gracious
C     G        Am        Fm

     C   G       Am   Fm
Just ho  old, hold on

C                   G             Am
  I swear to God I am such a mess
                   F
The harder that I try, I regress
C             G           Am
  I'm my own worst enemy
                   Fm
Right now I truly hate being me
C                  G                   Am
  Every day feels like the road I'm on
                        Fm
Might just open up and swallow me whole
C                 G             Am
  How do I feel so mighty small
                        Fm
When I'm struggling to feel at all

     C   G   Am
Just ho  old on
     Fm
Let time be patient
C   G        Am
Yo  ou are still strong
     Fm
Let pain be gracious

           C
Sometimes loneliness
       G         Am
Is the only rest we get
  Fm

        C
And the emptiness
G                 Am
Actually lets us forget
  Fm

           C
Sometimes forgiveness
   G           Am
Is easiest in secret
  Fm

             C  G    Am
So just hold o  on, ooh
     Fm
Let time be patient
C    G       Am

     Fm
Let pain be gracious
C   G         Am
Lo  ove will soon come, baby
        Fm
If you just hold on
 C                 G            Am
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
          Fm
Just let time be patient
C                        G
  'Cause you're still strong
      Am
I'm still strong
Fm
  Just be gracious
C   G         Am
Lo  ove will soon come
        Fm
If you just hold on

C  G  Am

                  Fm
Just be patient, just be patient

End of song Play again?

Adele - Hold On Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Hold On: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on Fm. 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)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C major side because it opens on C. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from A minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	28×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	1×
iv	Fm	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · Ab · C	27×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	28×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	28×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	28×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	28×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
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	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	1×
vi	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	27×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	28×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 5 different chords appear 112 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Fm is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×28
Fm C Civ → Iminor plagal Amvi → III ×26
F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×1

The move to watch is G → Am, heard 28 times. From the C side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected C, lands on Am); from the Am side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home). 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 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.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Fm, follow the chord's notes (F · Ab · 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 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

3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch
5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. C, G, Am, Fm carry the song: I–V–vi–iv relative to C, III–VII–i–vi relative to Am. Fm briefly darkens the picture: minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minor. Keep an ear on G → Am (V → vi in C, VII → i in Am): deceptive cadence — expected C, lands on Am. The final chord is Fm; 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.