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)
Shawn Mendes - Nobody Knows - Chord
Key C major – A minor Chords Fmaj7, C, Em, G4, G Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: C | Am
Capo: 0
Fmaj7 C Fmaj7 C
Fmaj7 C
When your touch walks me home
Fmaj7 C
When you taste this good
Fmaj7 C
When the glitters is gold
G4 G
And it feels like it should
Fmaj7 C
When you're so in love
Fmaj7 C
And your souls touch
Fmaj7 C
But it's still not enough
Em
Where does it go?
Fmaj7
Where does it go, oh
Em
Nobody knows
C
Where the love goes
Fmaj7 C
You're an amateur drunk and everyone knows it
Fmaj7 C
But fuck, you're the one and I live for those moments
Fmaj7 C
When the bottle is open, anything can happen
G4 G
Flying too close to the sun
Fmaj7 C
When you're so in love
Fmaj7 C
And your souls touch
Fmaj7 C
But it's still not enough
Em
Where does it go?
Fmaj7
Where does it go, oh
Em
Nobody knows
C
Where the love goes
End of song Play again?
Shawn Mendes - Nobody Knows Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Shawn Mendes – Nobody Knows: key and chord analysis
The song opens on Fmaj7 and ends on C. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.
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 comes to rest on C and C is heard 16 times while Am never appears. 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | C | Tonic — home | C · E · G | 16× |
| ii | Dm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | D · F · A | — |
| iii | Em | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | E · G · B | 4× |
| III | E | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G# · B | — |
| IVmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Subdominant — moves away from home | F · A · C · E | 16× |
| V | G4 | Dominant — strongest pull home | G · B · D | 2× |
| V | G | Dominant — strongest pull home | G · B · D | 2× |
| vi | Am | Relative minor — the melancholy side | A · C · E | — |
| vii° | Bdim | Leading-tone chord — tension | B · D · F | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Am | Tonic — home | A · C · E | — |
| ii° | Bdim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F | — |
| III | C | Relative major — the bright side | C · E · G | 16× |
| iv | Dm | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F · A | — |
| v | Em | Minor dominant — soft pull | E · G · B | 4× |
| V | E | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | E · G# · B | — |
| VImaj7 | Fmaj7 | Submediant — warm colour | F · A · C · E | 16× |
| VII | G4 | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | G · B · D | 2× |
| VII | G | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | G · B · D | 2× |
Analysis
The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 5 different chords appear 40 times in total; 5 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
- Fmaj7 C CIVmaj7 → Iplagal cadence AmVImaj7 → III ×14
The move to watch is Fmaj7 → C, heard 14 times. From the C side it reads IVmaj7 → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Am side it is VImaj7 → 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 Fmaj7, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Em, land on E, G, B — 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
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
The opening Fmaj7 lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Fmaj7, C, Em, G4; read them as IVmaj7–I–iii–V in C or VImaj7–III–v–VII in Am. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Fmaj7 → C (IVmaj7 → I in C, VImaj7 → III in Am): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is C; 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.
Shawn Mendes - Nobody Knows Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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