Frank Sinatra - Killing Me Softly - Chord

Key B major – G# minor Chords Dbm, Gb, B, Abm, E, A, Gb7, Eb7 … Easy key G (capo 4)

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Capo 0

Abm  Dbm  Gb  B
Abm  Dbm  Gb  E 
B  E  A  Abm

Dbm          Gb
I heard she sang a good song
B           E
I heard she had a style
Dbm       Gb
And so i came to see her
Abm
And listen for a while
Dbm            Gb7
And there she was this young girl
B             Eb7
A stranger to my eyes

Abm                          Dbm
Strumming my pain with her fingers
Gb                        B
Singing my life with her words
Abm                     Db
Killing me softly with her song
            Gb          E
Killing me softly with her song
            B               E
Telling my whole life with her words
            A
Killing me softly
          Ab
With her song

Dbm          Gb
I felt all flushed with fever
B           E
Embarrassed by the crowd
Dbm        Gb
I felt she found my letters
Abm
And read each one out loud
Dbm            Gb7
I prayed that she would finish
B                 Eb7
But she just kept right on

Abm                          Dbm
Strumming my pain with her fingers
Gb                        B
Singing my life with her words
Abm                     Db
Killing me softly with her song
            Gb          E
Killing me softly with her song
            B               E
Telling my whole life with her words
            A
Killing me softly
          Ab
With her song

Dbm         Gb
She sang as if she knew me
B         E
In all my dark despair
Dbm          Gb
And then she looked right through me
Abm
As if i wasn't there
Dbm           Gb7
But she was there with a stranger
B              Eb7
Singing clear and strong

Abm                          Dbm
Strumming my pain with her fingers
Gb                        B
Singing my life with her words
Abm                     Db
Killing me softly with her song
            Gb          E
Killing me softly with her song
            B               E
Telling my whole life with her words
            A
Killing me softly
          Ab
With her song

End of song Play again?

Frank Sinatra - Killing Me Softly Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Frank Sinatra – Killing Me Softly: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Abm and ends on Ab. Its chords belong to both B major and G#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

B major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

G# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = E (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = F# (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G (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 G# minor side because it opens on G#m, B is heard 14 times against 12 for G#m and the major V chord points straight at G#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from B 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 B or to G#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 B major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	B	Tonic — home	B · D# · F#	14×
ii	Dbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Db · Fb · Ab	14×
V/V	Db	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gbsecondary dominant	Db · F · Ab	3×
iii	D#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	D# · F# · A#	—
V7/vi	Eb7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Abmsecondary dominant	Eb · G · Bb · Db	3×
IV	E	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G# · B	11×
V	Gb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Gb · Bb · Db	14×
V7	Gb7	Dominant — strongest pull home	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	3×
vi	Abm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Ab · Cb · Eb	12×
V/ii	Ab	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb	3×
bVII	A	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	A · C# · E	4×
vii°	A#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	A# · C# · E	—

Seen from G# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Abm	Tonic — home	Ab · Cb · Eb	12×
V/iv	Ab	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb	3×
bII	A	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	A · C# · E	4×
ii°	A#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A# · C# · E	—
III	B	Relative major — the bright side	B · D# · F#	14×
iv	Dbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Db · Fb · Ab	14×
IV	Db	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Db · F · Ab	3×
v	D#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	D# · F# · A#	—
V7	Eb7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Eb · G · Bb · Db	3×
VI	E	Submediant — warm colour	E · G# · B	11×
VII	Gb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Gb · Bb · Db	14×
VII7	Gb7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	3×

Analysis

The key pair is B major and its relative G# minor (5 sharps). 10 different chords appear 81 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of G#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from B, the same Eb7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for G#m. Db, Ab act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. A is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Dbm Gb Bii → Vii → V G#miv → VII ×11
Gb B BV → Iauthentic cadence G#mVII → III ×7
E B BIV → Iplagal cadence G#mVI → III ×4
Gb7 B BV7 → Iauthentic cadence G#mVII7 → III ×3
Eb7 Abm BV7/vi → visecondary resolution G#mV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×3
Gb Abm BV → videceptive cadence G#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×3

The move to watch is Dbm → Gb, heard 11 times. From the G#m side it is iv → VII; from the B side it reads ii → V (ii → V: the classic preparation of the dominant). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

B major pentatonic and G# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (B – C# – D# – F# – G#): start from B for a brighter phrase, from G# for a bluesier one.
Over Dbm, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gb, land on Gb, Bb, Db — 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 Eb7 comes, swap the scale's F# for G: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On A, follow the chord's notes (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 B major shapes

Capo 2 + A shapes
Capo 4 + G shapes
Capo 7 + E shapes

With G# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Em shapes
Capo 6 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch
1 semitone up

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Abm, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Dbm, Gb, B, Abm carry the song: ii–V–I–vi relative to B, iv–VII–III–i relative to G#m. Eb7 is the interesting twist: in B it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in G#m it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Dbm → Gb (ii → V in B, iv → VII in G#m): ii → V — the classic preparation of the dominant. Ending on Ab, the song seals B 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.