Major view
F major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = E (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = Bb (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Bob Dylan - I Want You - Chord
Key F major – D minor Chords C, F, Dm, Am, Bb Easy key C (capo 5)
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Key: F | Dm
Capo: 0
F Am Dm C F
F
The guilty undertaker sighs
Am
The lonesome organ grinder cries
Dm C
The silver saxophones say I should refuse you
Bb
The cracked bells and washed out horns
C
Blow into my face with scorn
Dm
But it's not that way
C
I wasn't born to lose you
F Am
I want you, I want you
Dm C
I want you so bad
F
Honey, I want you
F
The drunken politician leaps
Am
Upon the street where mothers weep
Dm
And the saviors who are fast asleep
C
They wait for you
Bb
And I wait for them to interrupt
C
Me drinkin' from that broken cup
Dm
And ask me to
C
Open up the gate for you
F Am
I want you, I want you
Dm C
I want you so bad
F
Honey, I want you
Am
Now all my fathers, they've gone down
Dm
True love they've been without it
Am
But all their daughters put me down
Bb C
'Cause I don't think about it
F
Well, I return to the Queen of Spades
Am
And talk with my chambermaid.
Dm
She knows that I'm not afraid
C
To look at her
Bb
She is good to me
C
And there's nothing she doesn't see
Dm
She knows where I'd like to be
C
But it doesn't matter
F Am
I want you, I want you
Dm C
I want you so bad
F
Honey, I want you
F
Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit
Am
He spoke to me, I took his flute
Dm
No, I wasn't very cute to him
C
Was I
Bb
But I did it, though, because he lied
C
Because he took you for a ride
Dm
And because tine was on his side
C
And because I
F Am
I want you, I want you
Dm C
I want you so bad
F
Honey, I want you.
End of song Play again?
Bob Dylan - I Want You Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Bob Dylan – I Want You: key and chord analysis
The song opens on F and ends on F. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
D minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F major side because it both starts and finishes on F. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | F | Tonic — home | F · A · C | 14× |
| ii | Gm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G · Bb · D | — |
| iii | Am | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | A · C · E | 11× |
| V/vi | A | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant | A · C# · E | — |
| IV | Bb | Subdominant — moves away from home | Bb · D · F | 5× |
| V | C | Dominant — strongest pull home | C · E · G | 18× |
| vi | Dm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | D · F · A | 14× |
| vii° | Edim | Leading-tone chord — tension | E · G · Bb | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Dm | Tonic — home | D · F · A | 14× |
| ii° | Edim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · Bb | — |
| III | F | Relative major — the bright side | F · A · C | 14× |
| iv | Gm | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · Bb · D | — |
| v | Am | Minor dominant — soft pull | A · C · E | 11× |
| V | A | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | A · C# · E | — |
| VI | Bb | Submediant — warm colour | Bb · D · F | 5× |
| VII | C | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | C · E · G | 18× |
Analysis
The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 5 different chords appear 62 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.
Chord movement
- C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×10
- Am Dm Fiii → vi Dmv → inatural-minor cadence ×10
- Bb C FIV → VIV → V DmVI → VIIVI → VII ×5
- C Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×4
The move to watch is C → F, heard 10 times. From the F side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Dm side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
- Over C, land on C, E, G — 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.
- Over Dm, land on D, F, A — 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 F major shapes
- Capo 1 + E shapes
- Capo 3 + D shapes
- Capo 5 + C shapes
With D minor shapes
- No capo — open Dm shapes
- Capo 5 + Am shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
- 2 semitones up
The song's harmonic story
The first chord is F; the ear learns where home is within a second. C, F, Dm, Am carry the song: V–I–vi–iii relative to F, VII–III–i–v relative to Dm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C → F (V → I in F, VII → III in Dm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. Ending on F, the song seals F 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.
Bob Dylan - I Want You 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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