Sam Smith - Lay Me Down Ft. John Legend - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords Fmaj7, Cmaj7, Dm, Am7, F/G, G, F9 Easy key B (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Cmaj7
Yes I do, I believe
That one day I will be, where I was
                             Fmaj7
Right there, right next to you
And it's hard, the days just seem so dark
The moon, the stars, are nothing without you
Cmaj7
Your touch, your skin, where do I begin
No words can explain
                      Fmaj7
The way I'm missing you
The night, this emptiness, this hole that I'm inside
These tears, they tell their own story

Dm                     Fmaj7               Am7   G
You told me not to cry when you were gone
Dm                    Fmaj7                      F/G
But the feeling's overwhelming, it's much too strong

Cmaj7                Am7
Can I lay by your side
Dm           Fmaj7
Next to you, you
Cmaj7                   Am7
And make sure you're alright
                Dm
I'll take care of you
Fmaj7
And I don't want to be here
     F/G
If I can't be with you tonight

Cmaj7
I'm reaching out to you
                Fmaj7
Can you hear my call
Cmaj7
This hurt that I've been through
                             F9
I'm missing you, missing you like crazy

Dm     F          Bb7M   G*
Lay me down tonight
Dm     F          Bb7M   G*
Lay me by your side
Dm     F          Bb7M   G*
Lay me down tonight
Dm     F              G*
Lay me by your side

Cmaj7                Am7
Can I lay by your side
Dm           Fmaj7
Next to you, you ou

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Lay Me Down Ft. John Legend Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Lay Me Down Ft. John Legend: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cmaj7 and ends on Fmaj7. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (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 E major and C# minor. 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 E or to C#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 E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	—
bIImaj7	Fmaj7	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C · E	8×
bII	F/G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	2×
bII7	F9	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C · Eb · G	1×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
bIII	G	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	G · B · D	1×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
III	G#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	—
iv7	Am7	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	A · C · E · G	4×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	—
bVImaj7	Cmaj7	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G · B	7×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	—
bvii	Dm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A	5×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	—
bii	Dm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A	5×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	—
#IIImaj7	Fmaj7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C · E	8×
#III	F/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	2×
#III7	F9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C · Eb · G	1×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
#IV	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	1×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V	G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D#	—
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	—
vi7	Am7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G	4×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	—
#VIImaj7	Cmaj7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · B	7×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 7 different chords appear 28 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Fmaj7, Cmaj7, Am7, F/G, G, F9 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

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

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over Fmaj7, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Cmaj7, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Fmaj7, follow the chord's notes (F · A · C · E) 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 E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening Cmaj7 lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Fmaj7, Cmaj7, Dm, Am7; read them as bIImaj7–bVImaj7–bvii–iv7 in E or #IIImaj7–#VIImaj7–bii–vi7 in C#m. Fmaj7 briefly darkens the picture: neapolitan bii — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonic. It closes on Fmaj7, letting the E 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.