Elton John - Skyline Pigeon - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Eb, Ab, Bb, Bb7, Bb/D, Cm, G7, D7 … Easy key C (capo 3)

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Capo 0

Eb  Bb/D  Cm7  Cm7/Bb  Ab  
Bb7  Bb7  Eb  Eb2  Eb

         Eb
Turn me loose
           Bb/D
From your hands
        Ab  Bb7
Let me fly
            Eb
To distant lands
        F
Over green fields
           Ab
Trees and mountains
  Eb/Bb  Bb7               Eb
Flowers       and forest fountains
 Ab               Bb            Eb
Home along the lanes of the skyway

For this dark
            Bb/D
And lonely room
             Ab     Bb
Projects a shadow
            Eb
Castin in gloom
                 F
And my eyes are mirrors
        Ab
Of the world outside
         Eb/Bb
Thinking of the way
  Bb7              Eb              
That the wind can turn the tide
                   Ab
And these shadows turn
      Bb           Eb
From purple into grey

              Ab
For just a skyline pigeon
  Bb
Dreaming of the open
Eb
Wainting for the day
         Ab
He can spread his wings
     Bb            Eb
And fly away again

G7       Cm
   Fly away
  D7             Gm
Skyline pigeon fly
              Ab
Towards the dreams you've left so
   Bb     Eb
Very far behind
G7       Cm
   Fly away
  D7             Gm
Skyline pigeon fly
              Ab
Towards the dreams you've left so
   Bb     Eb
Very far behind

        Eb
Let me wake up in the morning
         Bb/D
To the smell of new mown hay
               Ab
To laugh and cry
             Bb
To live and die
         Eb
In the brightness of my day
           F
I want to hear the peeling bells
             Ab
Of distant churches sing
            Eb/Bb
But most of all please free
     Bb              Eb
Me from this aching metal ring
    Ab             Bb               Eb
And open out this cage towards the sun

               Ab
For just a skyline pigeon
  Bb
Dreaming of the open
 Eb
Wainting for the day
          Ab
He can spread his wings
      Bb       Eb
And fly away again

G7       Cm
   Fly away
  D7             Gm
Skyline pigeon fly
              Ab
Towards the dreams you've left so
   Bb     Eb
Very far behind
G7       Cm
   Fly away
  D7             Gm
Skyline pigeon fly
              Ab
Towards the dreams you've left so
   Bb       Eb
Very far behind

Eb  Bb/D  Cm   Cm/Bb 
Ab  Bb7   Bb7  Eb

End of song Play again?

Elton John - Skyline Pigeon Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Elton John – Skyline Pigeon: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Eb and ends on Eb. 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: to us the song feels closer to the Eb major side because it both starts and finishes on Eb, Eb is heard 28 times against 8 for Cm and the major V chord points straight at Cm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	24×
I	Eb/Bb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	3×
Isus2	Eb2	Tonic — home	Eb · F · Bb	1×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
V/V	F	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bbsecondary dominant	F · A · C	3×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	4×
V7/vi	G7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D · F	4×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	19×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	14×
V7	Bb7	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F · Ab	7×
V	Bb/D	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	5×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	5×
vi7	Cm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
vi7	Cm7/Bb	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
vi	Cm/Bb	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	1×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—
V7/iii	D7	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	4×

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	5×
i7	Cm7	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
i7	Cm7/Bb	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
i	Cm/Bb	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	1×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
V7/v	D7	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	4×
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	24×
III	Eb/Bb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	3×
IIIsus2	Eb2	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · F · Bb	1×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
IV	F	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	F · A · C	3×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	4×
V7	G7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D · F	4×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	19×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	14×
VII7	Bb7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F · Ab	7×
VII	Bb/D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	5×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 15 different chords appear 96 times in total; 12 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 G7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Cm. D7, F act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

Bb Eb EbV → Iauthentic cadence CmVII → III ×14
Ab Bb EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×13
Bb7 Eb EbV7 → Iauthentic cadence CmVII7 → III ×5
G7 Cm EbV7/vi → visecondary resolution CmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×4
D7 Gm EbV7/iii → iiisecondary resolution CmV7/v → v ×4
Ab Eb/Bb EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×3

The move to watch is Bb → Eb, heard 14 times. From the Eb side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Cm side it is VII → III. 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 Eb, land on Eb, G, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bb, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When G7 comes, swap the scale's Bb for B: 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 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
4 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The opening Eb lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Eb, Ab, Bb, Bb7; read them as I–IV–V–V7 in Eb or III–VI–VII–VII7 in Cm. G7 is the interesting twist: in Eb it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Cm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bb → Eb (V → I in Eb, VII → III in Cm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. Ending on Eb, 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.