Sam Smith - Good Thing - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords E, Dbm, B, B/F#, B/A, A, Abm, Ab7 … Easy key G

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Capo 0

E                          B/F#    Dbm               B/A
I had a dream i was mugged outside your house
        E                          B/F#    Dbm       B/A
I had a dream in a panic you came running out
E                          B/F#    Dbm               B/A
For a moment you were sure i'd die on you
E                           B/F#  Dbm                B/A
For a moment i believed you loved me too

B                          A  B                D
But life is never like this, and you're never strong

Dbm                     B   E                   A
Too much of a good thing,  won't be good for long
Dbm                            B   E                          Abm    Ab7
Although you made my heart sing,  to stay with you would be wrong
Dbm                    B    E                 Gbm
Too much of a good thing,  won't be good anymore
Abm            Ab7             A           Gb
Watch where i tread before i fall
   
E  B/F#  Dbm  B/A  

E                B/F#   Dbm                    B/A
We?d talk maybe twenty times a day
E                            B/F#    Dbm       B/A
And still i never say what i want to say

B                          A  B                   D
I thought i wouldn't need to, i guess i read you wrong

Dbm                     B   E                   A
Too much of a good thing,  won't be good for long
Dbm                            B   E                          Abm    Ab7
Although you made my heart sing,  to stay with you would be wrong
Dbm                    B    E                 Gbm
Too much of a good thing,  won?t be good anymore
Abm            Ab7
Watch where i tread before i fall

Gbm  B  Dbm
Gbm  B

E   B/F#  Dbm  B/A  

B                    A  B                D
You refuse to see this, don't see it anymore

Dbm                   B   E                   A
I have made a decision,  not to answer your calls
Dbm                            B   E                      Abm    Ab7
Cause i put everything out there,   and i got nothing at all
Dbm                    B   E                 Gbm
Too much of a good thing   isn't good and you know
Abm             Ab7            A
I watch where i walk before i fall
Gb        E
Before i fall

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Good Thing Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Good Thing: key and chord analysis

The song opens on E and ends on E. 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)
#7 = B# (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 E major side because it both starts and finishes on E and the major V chord points straight at C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	18×
ii	Gbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Gb · A · Db	5×
V/V	Gb	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	2×
iii	Abm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
V7/vi	Ab7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb · Gb	6×
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	8×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	17×
V	B/F#	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	8×
V	B/A	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	8×
vi	Dbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Db · Fb · Ab	18×
bVII	D	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	D · F# · A	3×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dbm	Tonic — home	Db · Fb · Ab	18×
bII	D	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	D · F# · A	3×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	18×
iv	Gbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Gb · A · Db	5×
IV	Gb	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Gb · Bb · Db	2×
v	Abm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
V7	Ab7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Ab · C · Eb · Gb	6×
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	8×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	17×
VII	B/F#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	8×
VII	B/A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	8×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 11 different chords appear 99 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of C#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from E, the same Ab7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for C#m. Gb acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. D is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×10
B/F# Dbm EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×8
B/A E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×5
Ab7 Dbm EV7/vi → visecondary resolution C#mV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×3
A B EIV → VIV → V C#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×3
A Dbm EIV → vi C#mVI → iVI → i ×3

The move to watch is B → E, heard 10 times. From the E side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the C#m side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 E, land on E, G#, B — 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 B, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When Ab7 comes, swap the scale's B for B#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On D, follow the chord's notes (D · F# · A) 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

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is E; the ear learns where home is within a second. E, Dbm, B, B/F# carry the song: I–vi–V–V relative to E, III–i–VII–VII relative to C#m. Ab7 is the interesting twist: in E it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in C#m it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on B → E (V → I in E, VII → III in C#m): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. Ending on E, the song seals E 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.