Elton John - Goodbye yellow brick road - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords F, C, Bb, Eb, Bbm, Gm, Db, C/E … Easy key G

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Capo 0

F  C/E  Dm  Dm/C
Bb  C4  C  F

Gm                 Gm/Bb  C      F         F/A       Bb
When are you gonna come down, when are you going to land
    Eb                        C                  F
I should have stayed on the farm ,should have  listened to my old man
      Gm            Gm/Bb     C        F     F/A          Bb
You know you can't hold me forever, I didn't sign up with you
     Eb                       C
I'm not a present for your friends to open

      F                                 Bbm  Eb    Ab  Db  Bbm      C
This boy's too young to be singing the blu..es, aaaaaah,  aaaaaah
    F                    A7            Bb               F
So goodbye yellow brick road where the dogs of society howl
     D7                     Gm              C                 F   C/E
You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough
 Dm                      A7                Bb                       Db
Back to the howling old owl in the woods, hunting the horny black toad
   Eb   F         C/E      Dm          F/C
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
   Bb       C           Bbm  Eb   Ab    Db  Bbm   C  F
Beyond the yellow brick roooaad,  aaaaaah, aaaaaah

   Gm          Gm/Bb           C      F           F/A         Bb
What do you think you'l do then? I bet that`ll shoot down your plane
       Eb                        C                  F
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics to set you on your feet again
 Gm           Gm/Bb         C      F               F/A       Bb
Maybe you'll get a replacement, there's plenty like me to be found
 Eb            C
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
F                                   Bbm  Eb  Ab   Db  Bbm       C
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground, aaaaaah, aaaaaah

   F                    A7            Bb               F
So goodbye yellow brick road where the dogs of society howl
     D7                     Gm              C                 F   C/E
You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough
 Dm                      A7                Bb                       Db
Back to the howling old owl in the woods, hunting the horny black toad
   Eb   F         C/E      Dm          F/C
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
   Bb       C           Bbm  Eb   Ab    Db  Bbm   C  F
Beyond the yellow brick roooaad,  aaaaaah, aaaaaah

End of song Play again?

Elton John - Goodbye yellow brick road Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Elton John – Goodbye yellow brick road: 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.

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)

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
#7 = C# (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 F major side because it both starts and finishes on F, F is heard 26 times against 6 for Dm and the major V chord points straight at Dm. 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.

Seen from F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	20×
I	F/A	Tonic — home	F · A · C	4×
I	F/C	Tonic — home	F · A · C	2×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	6×
ii	Gm/Bb	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	4×
bIII	Ab	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Ab · C · Eb	4×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	—
V7/vi	A7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	4×
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	11×
iv	Bbm	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Bb · Db · F	8×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	17×
V	C/E	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	5×
V	C4	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	1×
bVI	Db	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Db · F · Ab	6×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	5×
vi	Dm/C	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	1×
V7/ii	D7	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	2×
bVII	Eb	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Eb · G · Bb	10×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	5×
i	Dm/C	Tonic — home	D · F · A	1×
V7/iv	D7	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	2×
bII	Eb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Eb · G · Bb	10×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	20×
III	F/A	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	4×
III	F/C	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	2×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	6×
iv	Gm/Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	4×
#IV	Ab	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · C · Eb	4×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	—
V7	A7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E · G	4×
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	11×
vi	Bbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · Db · F	8×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	17×
VII	C/E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	5×
VII	C4	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	1×
#VII	Db	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab	6×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 17 different chords appear 110 times in total; 11 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm. D7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Eb, Bbm, Db, Ab are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×15
C/E Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×5
Gm/Bb C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×4
Bb F FIV → Iplagal cadence DmVI → III ×2
D7 Gm FV7/ii → iisecondary resolution DmV7/iv → iv ×2
Gm C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×2

The move to watch is C → F, heard 15 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 F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — 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 A7 comes, swap the scale's C for C#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Eb, follow the chord's notes (Eb · G · Bb) 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 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

2 semitones up
4 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

Starting on F, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is F, C, Bb, Eb — I–V–IV–bVII from the F side, III–VII–VI–bII from the Dm side. A7 is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on C → F (V → I in F, VII → III in Dm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is F; the ear comes to rest in F.

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.