Sabrina Carpenter - Emails I Can't Send - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords D, Bm, A, Gb7, G, E7, Gm Easy key D (capo 7)

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Capo 0

    D
It's times like these
          Gb7
Wish I had a time machine, so
Bm                         D
I could see what you did October 13th
  G               D
At 10:15, were you really asleep
        E7                   A
Were you lying to me and the family

          D                   Gb7
There's no "us" in us when I'm lacking trust
   Bm
You wanna discuss, ugh
D
 You disgust me
G
Don't make me cuss you out
D
 Why'd you let me down
E7              A
Don't say sorry now

   D               Gb7
And thanks to you I, I can't love right
Bm                 D
I get nice guys and villainize them
G                    D
Read their texts like they're having sex right now
E7                  A
Scared I'll find out that it's true
   D             Gb7
And if I do, then I blame you for
Bm                A
  Every worst that I assume
         D                  Gb7
When I'm forty five, someone calls me their wife
      Bm                     D
And he fucks our lives in one selfish night
                G                   D
Don't think I'll find forgiveness as fast as mom did
   E7                           A
And, God, I love you, but you're such a dipshit
Gm
Please, fucking fix this

                D     A         Bm
'Cause you were all I looked up to
      Gm                 D   
Now I can't even look at you

End of song Play again?

Sabrina Carpenter - Emails I Can't Send Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sabrina Carpenter – Emails I Can't Send: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on D. 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: to us the song feels closer to the A major side because A is heard 6 times while F#m never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from F# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	6×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	6×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
V/vi	C#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Gbmsecondary dominant	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	15×
V7	E7	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B · D	4×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
V7/ii	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	5×
bVII	G	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	4×
bvii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	2×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
V7/iv	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	5×
bII	G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	4×
bii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	2×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	6×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	6×
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	15×
VII7	E7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B · D	4×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 7 different chords appear 42 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Gb7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. G is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Gb7 Bm AV7/ii → iisecondary resolution F#mV7/iv → iv ×5
E7 A AV7 → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII7 → III ×4
D E7 AIV → V7IV → V F#mVI → VII7VI → VII ×4
D A AIV → Iplagal cadence F#mVI → III ×1

The move to watch is Gb7 → Bm, heard 5 times. From the A side it reads V7/ii → ii (secondary resolution: Gb7 resolves a fourth up to Bm); from the F#m side it is V7/iv → iv. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bm, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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

5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is D; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are D, Bm, A, Gb7; read them as IV–ii–I–V7/ii in A or VI–iv–III–V7/iv in F#m. Gb7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bm. Keep an ear on Gb7 → Bm (V7/ii → ii in A, V7/iv → iv in F#m): secondary resolution — Gb7 resolves a fourth up to Bm. It closes on D, letting the A 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.