Miley Cyrus - Adore You - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, F, Am, Dm Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C     F   Am
 Ba  by, baby,
C               F   Am
 Are you listeni  ng
  C              F          Am         C
Wondering where you've been all my li   fe
        F            Am
I just started living
     C       F   Am
Ooh whoa ba   by,
    C               F    Am
Are you listening ahh haa

         C
When you say you love me,
      F              Am
Know I  love you more
             C
And when you say you need me,
      F               Am
Know I  need you more
       C       F   Am
Boy I ado   re you
    C      F   Am
I ado   re you

C         F         Am
Baby can you hear me
          C          F      Am
When I'm crying out for you
      C        F        Am
I'm scared ooh so scared
          C
But when you're near me
  F                      Am
I feel like I'm standing with an army
  C             F       Am
I am armed with weapons
  C     F  Am
Hey ooh

         C
When you say you love me,
      F              Am
Know I  love you more
             C
And when you say you need me,
      F               Am
Know I  need you more
       C       F   Am
Boy I ado   re you
    C      F   Am
I ado   re you

F              Dm        C
 I love lying next to you
           F                          Dm   C
I could do this for eternity, you and me
               F
We're meant to be in holy matrimony
Dm        C
God knew exactly what he was doing
F                  Dm   C
 When he led me to you

         C
When you say you love me,
      F              Am
Know I  love you more
             C
And when you say you need me,
      F               Am
Know I  need you more
        C      F   Am
Boy I ado   re you
    C      F   Am
I ado   re you

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - Adore You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – Adore You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on Am. 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: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because it comes to rest on Am, it opens on C and C is heard 28 times against 24 for 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	28×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	4×
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	28×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	—
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	24×
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	24×
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	4×
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	28×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	—

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 4 different chords appear 84 times in total; 4 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

F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×24

The move to watch is F → Am, heard 24 times. From the C side it reads IV → vi; from the Am side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step 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 F, land on F, A, C — 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.

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 down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is C, F, Am, Dm — I–IV–vi–ii from the C side, III–VI–i–iv from the Am side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on F → Am (IV → vi in C, VI → i in Am): VI → i — falls a half step into home. Ending on Am, the song seals Am 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.