Sam Smith - Fire On Fire - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords A, Dbm, E, B, Gbm, Abm Easy key C

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

Dbm                       E
My mother said I'm too romantic
B                                A
She said: you're dancing like the movies
Dbm                  E
I almost started to believe her
B                    A
Then I saw you and I knew
Dbm                       E
Maybe it's 'cause I got a little bit older
B                             A
Maybe it's all that I've been through
Dbm                            E
I'd like to think it's how you lean on my shoulder
B                      A
And how I see myself with you

   Gbm      Abm  A
I don't say a word
           Dbm                    B              Gbm 
But still, you take my breath and steal the things I know
          A        Dbm                  B
There you go, saving me from out of the cold

        Dbm                  E
Fire on fire, would normally kill us
                B                       A
With this much desire, together, we're winners
              Dbm 
They say that we're out of control and some say we're
E
Sinners
                    B                  A
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms
                Gbm                        A
'Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me
                Dbm  B
And look in my eyes
           Gbm                 A
You are perfection, my only direction
               Dbm  E
It's fire on fire
                B  A
It's fire on fire

Dbm                     E
When we fight, we fight like lions
B                              A
But then we love and feel the truth
Dbm                    E
We lose our minds in a city of roses
B                     A
We won't abide by any rules

   Gbm    E    A
I don't say a word
      B     Dbm                     B             Gbm 
But still, you take my breath and steal the things I know
     E    A        Dbm                  B
There you go, saving me from out of the cold

          Dbm                E
Fire on fire, would normally kill us
                 Abm                     A
With this much desire, together, we're winners
              Dbm 
They say that we're out of control and some say we're
E
Sinners
                   Abm                  A
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms
                 Gbm               E        A
'Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me
                Dbm  B
And look in my eyes
           Gbm           E      A
You are perfection, my only direction
               Dbm  A
It's fire on fire
E  B                Dbm  A  E  B
Ooh, It's fire on fire

        Dbm                  E
Fire on fire, would normally kill us
                 Abm                     A
With this much desire, together, we're winners
              Dbm 
They say that we're out of control and some say we're
E
Sinners
                   Abm                   A
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms

         Dbm                 E
Fire on fire, would normally kill us
                 Abm                     A
With this much desire, together, we're winners
               Dbm 
They say that we're out of control and some say we're
E
Sinners
                   Abm                   A
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms
                  Gbm             E        A
'Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me
                Dbm  B
And look in my eyes
           Gbm            E     A
You are perfection, my only direction
               Dbm  E
It's fire on fire
                B  A
It's fire on fire

           Gbm          E       A
You are perfection, my only direction
               Dbm  A  Dbm  E
It's fire on fire

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Fire On Fire Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Fire On Fire: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dbm and ends on E. 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 30 times against 11 for F#m. 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	30×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
V/V	B	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Esecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	20×
iii	Dbm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Db · Fb · Ab	27×
V/vi	C#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Gbmsecondary dominant	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	26×
vi	Gbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Gb · A · Db	11×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—
vii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	7×

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Gbm	Tonic — home	Gb · A · Db	11×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
ii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	7×
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	30×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
IV	B	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F#	20×
v	Dbm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Db · Fb · Ab	27×
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	26×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 6 different chords appear 121 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. B acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×7

The move to watch is E → A, heard 7 times. From the A side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the F#m side it is VII → III. 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 A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dbm, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E, 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 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

3 semitones up
4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Dbm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are A, Dbm, E, B; read them as I–iii–V–V/V in A or III–v–VII–IV in F#m. B adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to E. Keep an ear on E → A (V → I in A, VII → III in F#m): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. It closes on E, 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.