Tina Turner - I Don't Wanna Lose You - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords C, Dm, F, C#, Ebm, Gm, Bb, Eb … Easy key C (capo 3)

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Capo 0

C  Dm   C  Gm  F  C

Bb                 Gm
Women of a certain age
      Dm                      Eb          F
they learn to rely and judge all his responses
 Bb                      Gm
Having played the mating game
     Dm                       Eb            F
she doesn't waste time cause all that she wants is
 Ab    G               Eb       Ebm
Really honest emotions, ones he can't help but show
  Bb                       Gm      Dm                      G    C
Though I hardly know your name, I know about love and I know

               Dm        C                  Dm                       C
I don't wanna lose you,  I don't even wanna  say goodbye, oh no 
              Dm              C          F            C
I just wanna hold on to this  true love,  true love

 Bb                     Gm
Women who have made mistakes
       Dm                         Eb           F
are a little afraid, they don't like taking chances
  Bb                       Gm
She will play the waiting game
      Dm                         Eb      F
she's never impressed by those manly advances
Fm            G                   Eb Ebm              F
 I   know I've only just met you, maybe I should know better
      Bb                      Gm
But when you look at me that way
         Dm                          G    C
there's something inside that's so right

               Dm        C
I don't wanna lose you
                  Dm                       C
I don't even wanna   say goodbye, oh no 
              Dm              C          F           C
I just wanna hold on to this  true love, true love

               Dm         C
I don't wanna lose you,
                   Dm                        C
and I always wanna   feel this way, oh yeah,
                      Dm             C           F           C
'cause everytime I'm with you I feel  true love,  true love

 Dm
Tell me you're real, you're not pretending
Fm7                                                   C  A7
  Let's make a deal, 'cause my heart's depending on yoooooou
     Dm    Ab  C
 oh baby

       C#     Ebm
I don't wanna lose you,
                  C#              Ebm      C#
I don't even wanna   say goodbye, oh no 
              Ebm           C#         F#           C#
I just wanna hold on to this  true love, true love

              Ebm      C#
I don't wanna lose you,
                  Ebm                    C#
I don't even wanna   say goodbye, oh no 
              Ebm           C#         F#           C#
I just wanna hold on to this  true love, true love

End of song Play again?

Tina Turner - I Don't Wanna Lose You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Tina Turner – I Don't Wanna Lose You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on C#. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Ab (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Bb (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between Eb major and C minor because Eb is heard 6 times while Cm never appears and the major V chord points straight at Cm. 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 Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	6×
i	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	8×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	1×
ii7	Fm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C · Eb	1×
V/V	F	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bbsecondary dominant	F · A · C	9×
bIII	F#	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F# · A# · C#	2×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	7×
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	4×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	2×
#IV7	A7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E · G	1×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	6×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	—
V/ii	C	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	19×
bVII	C#	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	C# · E# · G#	9×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—
vii	Dm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A	18×

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	—
V/iv	C	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	19×
bII	C#	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	C# · E# · G#	9×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
ii	Dm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A	18×
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	6×
iii	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	8×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	1×
iv7	Fm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C · Eb	1×
IV	F	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	F · A · C	9×
#IV	F#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F# · A# · C#	2×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	7×
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	4×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	2×
#VI7	A7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E · G	1×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	6×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 14 different chords appear 93 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Cm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Eb, the same G is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Cm. C, F act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. C#, F# are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Fm G Ebii → V/vi Cmiv → Viv → V ×1
A7 Dm Eb#IV7 → viisecondary resolution Cm#VI7 → ii ×1

The move to watch is Fm → G, heard once. From the Eb side it reads ii → V/vi; from the Cm side it is iv → V (iv → V: the minor side's tension builder). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

Starting on C, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are C, Dm, F, C#; read them as V/ii–vii–V/V–bVII in Eb or V/iv–ii–IV–bII in Cm. C is the interesting twist: in Eb it is a chromatic chord (V/ii), while in Cm it becomes the dominant (V/iv) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Fm → G (ii → V/vi in Eb, iv → V in Cm): iv → V — the minor side's tension builder. Ending on C#, the song seals Eb 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.