Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords B, Dbm, A, E, Bm, Db, C#m Easy key G

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Capo 0

Dbm  E  A  Dbm  E  A  Dbm  Bm  A  Db  Dbm  Dbm  E  A  B  Dbm

Dbm            B              A             B
"There must be some kinda way out of here"
Dbm       B            A      B
Said the joker to the thief
Dbm           B       A        B
"There's too much confusion,
Dbm      B        A     B
I can't get no relief
Dbm       B         A             B
Businessmen, they drink my wine,
Dbm       B         A       B
Plow men dig my earth
Dbm      B     A             B
None of them along the line
Dbm            B        A        B
Know what any of it is worth"

E  A  B  Dbm  E  A  B  Dbm

Dbm    B     A      B
"No reason to get excited"
 Dbm    B     A      B
The thief he kindly spoke
 Dbm    B     A      B
"There are many here among us
 Dbm    B     A      B
Who feel that life is but a joke
  Dbm    B     A      B
But, you and I, we've been through that
 Dbm    B     A      B
And this is not our fate
 Dbm    B     A      B
So let us not talk falsely now
 Dbm    B     A      B
The hour is getting late"

E  A  B  C#m  E  A  B  C#m

  Dbm    B     A      B
All along the watchtower
 Dbm    B     A      B
Princes kept the view
  Dbm    B     A      B
While other women came and went
 Dbm    B     A      B
Barefoot servants, too
  Dbm    B     A      B
Outside in the cold distance
 Dbm    B     A      B
A wild cat did growl
 Dbm    B     A      B
Two riders were approaching
  Dbm    B     A      B
And the wind began to howl
 Dbm    B     A      B
All along the tower

Dbm  E  A  Dbm  E  A  Dbm  Bm  A  Db  Dbm  Dbm  E  A  B  Dbm

End of song Play again?

Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dbm and ends on Dbm. 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: to us the song feels closer to the C# minor side because it both starts and finishes on C#m and C#m is heard 41 times against 10 for E. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from E 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 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	10×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V/vi	G#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	37×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	56×
v	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	2×
vi	Dbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Db · Fb · Ab	39×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	2×
VI	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	2×
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	39×
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	2×
I	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	2×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	10×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
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	37×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	56×
vii	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	2×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 7 different chords appear 148 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Bm, Db step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

A B EIV → VIV → V C#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×31
B Dbm EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×27
A Dbm EIV → vi C#mVI → iVI → i ×4
B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×2
B C#m EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×2

The move to watch is A → B, heard 31 times. From the C#m side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the E side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home). 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 B, land on B, D#, F# — 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 A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

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 Dbm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are B, Dbm, A, E; read them as V–vi–IV–I in E or VII–i–VI–III in C#m. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on A → B (IV → V in E, VI → VII in C#m): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. The final chord is Dbm; the ear comes to rest in C#m.

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.

Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano

Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.

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