Shawn Mendes - Stitches - Chord

Key Db major – Bb minor Chords G, Am, F, C Easy key Ab (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Am  G  C  F

   Am        G        C        F

Am               G
  I thought that I've been hurt
   C   F
Before
Am            G
But no one's ever left me
            C   F
Quite this sore
Am                G
  Your words cut deeper than
    C   F
A knife
       Am               G
Now I need someone to breathe me
         C   F
Back to life

F                         G
  Got a feeling that I'm going under
Am
  But I know that I'll make it out alive
F                    G
  If I quit calling you my lover
Am        G
  Move on

   P.M.  . . .

               Am
You watch me bleed until
                G
I can't breathe
          C                    F
Shaking, falling onto my knees
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches
  Am                 G
Tripping over myself
         C                       F
Aching, begging you to come help
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches

Am             G                C   F
  Just like a moth drawn to a flame
         Am
Oh, you lured me in
   G                  C   F
I couldn't sense the pain
Am             G                 C    F
  Your bitter heart cold to the touch
               Am             G
Now I'm gonna reap what I saw
                 C            F
I'm left seeing red on my own

F                         G
  Got a feeling that I'm going under
Am
  But I know that I'll make it out alive
F                    G
  If I quit calling you my lover
Am        G
  Move on

               Am
You watch me bleed until
                G
I can't breathe
          C                    F
Shaking, falling onto my knees
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches
  Am                 G
Tripping over myself
         C                       F
Aching, begging you to come help
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches

 Am
Needle and the thread
       G
Gotta get you out of my head
 C
Needle and the thread
       F
Gonna wind up dead
 Am
Needle and the thread
       G
Gotta get you out of my head
 C
Needle and the thread
       F
Gonna wind up dead

 Am
Needle and the thread
       G
Gotta get you out of my head
 C
Needle and the thread
       F
Gonna wind up dead
 Am
Needle and the thread
       G
Gotta get you out of my head
 C                     F
Get you out of my head

               Am
You watch me bleed until
                G
I can't breathe
          C                    F
Shaking, falling onto my knees
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches
  Am                 G
Tripping over myself
         C                       F
Aching, begging you to come help
             Am
And now that I'm
              G
Without your kisses
F                 C
I'll be needing stitches

I'm without your kisses

I'll be needing stitches

I'm without your kisses

I'll be needing stitches

End of song Play again?

Shawn Mendes - Stitches Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Shawn Mendes – Stitches: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on C. Its chords belong to both Db major and Bbm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Db major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

Bb minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Gb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Ab (natural-minor colour)
#7 = A (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the Bb minor side because the major V chord points straight at Bbm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Db 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 Db or to Bbm; 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 Db major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Db	Tonic — home	Db · F · Ab	—
ii	Ebm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Eb · Gb · Bb	—
iii	Fm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F · Ab · C	—
III	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	30×
IV	Gb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Gb · Bb · Db	—
#IV	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	32×
V	Ab	Dominant — strongest pull home	Ab · C · Eb	—
bvi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	30×
vi	Bbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Bb · Db · F	—
vii°	Cdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C · Eb · Gb	—
V/iii	C	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	26×

Seen from Bb minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bbm	Tonic — home	Bb · Db · F	—
ii°	Cdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C · Eb · Gb	—
V/v	C	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	26×
III	Db	Relative major — the bright side	Db · F · Ab	—
iv	Ebm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Eb · Gb · Bb	—
v	Fm	Minor dominant — soft pull	F · Ab · C	—
V	F	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F · A · C	30×
VI	Gb	Submediant — warm colour	Gb · Bb · Db	—
#VI	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	32×
VII	Ab	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Ab · C · Eb	—
#vii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	30×

Analysis

The key pair is Db major and its relative Bb minor (5 flats). 4 different chords appear 118 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Bbm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull. C acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

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

Capo 1 + C shapes
Capo 4 + A shapes
Capo 6 + G shapes

With Bb minor shapes

Capo 1 + Am shapes
Capo 6 + Em shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Am lays a solid floor for everything that follows. G, Am, F, C carry the song: #IV–bvi–III–V/iii relative to Db, #VI–#vii–V–V/v relative to Bbm. F is the interesting twist: in Db it is a chromatic chord (III), while in Bbm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Ending on C, the song seals Db 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.