Frank Sinatra - Something Stupid - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords B7, Gbm7, E, E6, E7, A, C9, Emaj7 … Easy key F (capo 2)

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Capo 0

Gbm7  B7  Gbm7  B7  E

   E               E6              Emaj7                E6
I know I stand in line, until you think you have the time
            Gbm7         B7  Gbm7  B7
To spend an evening with me
    Gbm7         B7                 Gbm7                B7
And if we go someplace to dance, I know that there's a chance
              E
You won't be leaving with me
    E7
And afterwards we drop into a quiet little place
            A           C9
And have a drink or two

    Gbm7              B7               Gbm7             B7
And then I'll go and spoil it all, by saying something stupid
         E    E6   E  E6
Like, "I love you"
      E7
I can see it in your eyes, that you despise the same old lies
              A
You heard the night before
    Gb7                                        
And though it's just a line to you, for me it's true
                   B7
It never seemed so right before

  E              E6                Emaj7            E6
I practice every day to find some clever lines to say
            Gbm7         B7    Gbm7   B7
To make the meaning come true
    Gbm7              B7             Gbm7         B7
But then I think I'll wait until the evening gets late
         E
And I'm alone with you
    E7
The time is right, your perfume fills my head, the stars get red
             A                C9
And, oh, the night's so blue
    Gbm7             B7               Gbm7              B7
And then I'll go and spoil it all, by saying something stupid
          E    E6   E  E6
Like, "I love you"

E  E6  E7M  E6   
Gbm7  B7  Gbm7  B7  E   

    E7
The time is right, your perfume fills my head, the stars get red
             A                C9
And, oh, the night's so blue
    Gbm7             B7               Gbm7              B7
And then I'll go and spoil it all, by saying something stupid
          E        C
Like, "I love you"


   E       C
I love you

End of song Play again?

Frank Sinatra - Something Stupid Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Frank Sinatra – Something Stupid: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Gbm7 and ends on C. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)
#7 = D# (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 minor side because the major V chord points straight at Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from G 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 G or to Em; 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 G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	—
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
II	A	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E	4×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V7/vi	B7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A	19×
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	2×
IV7	C9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb · D	3×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	—
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	—
V/ii	E	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	12×
V/ii	E6	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · C#	8×
V7/ii	E7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	4×
V/ii	Emaj7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D#	2×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—
vii7	Gbm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db · Fb	18×
V7/iii	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	1×

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	—
V/iv	E	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	12×
V/iv	E6	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · C#	8×
V7/iv	E7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	4×
V/iv	Emaj7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D#	2×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
ii7	Gbm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db · Fb	18×
V7/v	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	1×
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	—
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
IV	A	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	A · C# · E	4×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V7	B7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F# · A	19×
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	2×
VI7	C9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb · D	3×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	—

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 10 different chords appear 73 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Em brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from G, the same B7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Em. E, E6, E7, Emaj7, Gb7 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

B7 E GV7/vi → V/iisecondary resolution EmV7 → V/iv ×8
E7 A GV7/ii → IIsecondary resolution EmV7/iv → IV ×4
Gb7 B7 GV7/iii → V7/visecondary resolution EmV7/v → V7 ×1

The move to watch is B7 → E, heard 8 times. From the Em side it is V7 → V/iv; from the G side it reads V7/vi → V/ii (secondary resolution: B7 resolves a fourth up to E). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over B7, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gbm7, land on Gb, A, Db — 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.
When B7 comes, swap the scale's D for D#: 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 G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening Gbm7 lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are B7, Gbm7, E, E6; read them as V7/vi–vii7–V/ii–V/ii in G or V7–ii7–V/iv–V/iv in Em. B7 is the interesting twist: in G it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Em it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on B7 → E (V7/vi → V/ii in G, V7 → V/iv in Em): secondary resolution — B7 resolves a fourth up to E. The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in G.

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.