Coldplay - Fix You - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Eb, Bb, Ab, Cm7, Gm Easy key G

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Capo 0

Eb  Gm  Cm7  Bb

          Eb                     Gm         Cm7  Bb
When you try your best but you don't succeed
          Eb                     Gm         Cm7  Bb
When you get what you want, but not what you need
          Eb                 Gm             Cm7  Bb
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
           Eb  Gm   Cm7   Bb
Stuck in reverse

          Eb                 Gm           Cm7  Bb
And the tears come streaming down your face
          Eb                 Gm           Cm7  Bb
When you lose something you can't replace
          Eb                Gm            Cm7  Bb
When you love someone but it goes to waste
             Eb   Gm    Cm7   Bb        Ab
Could it be worse

Ab      Eb   Bb              Ab
Lights will guide you home
Ab  Eb Bb                    Ab
And ignite your bones
Ab     Eb  Bb
And I will try to fix you

Eb Gm  Cm7  Bb

  Eb               Gm       Cm7  Bb
High up above or down below
             Eb             Gm       Cm7  Bb
When you're too in love to let it go
             Eb             Gm        Cm7  Bb
But if you never try you'll never know
                  Eb   Gm   Cm7   Bb   Ab
Just what you're worth

Ab      Eb   Bb            Ab
Lights will guide you home
Ab  Eb Bb              Ab
And ignite your bones
Ab     Eb  Bb
And I will try to fix you

Eb  Ab  Eb  Bb

Eb           Ab
Tears stream, down your face
Eb                      Bb
When you lose something you cannot replace
Cm7          Ab                 Eb  Bb
Tears stream, down your face and I (hold)
Eb           Ab
Tears stream, down your face
Eb                   Bb
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Cm7          Ab                 Eb  Bb
Tears stream, down your face and I (hold)

Ab      Eb   Bb            Ab
Lights will guide you home
Ab  Eb Bb              Ab
And ignite your bones
Ab     Eb  Bb             Eb
And I will try to fix you

End of song Play again?

Coldplay - Fix You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Coldplay – Fix You: 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)

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 and Eb is heard 32 times against 16 for 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	32×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	14×
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	22×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	28×
vi7	Cm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G · Bb	16×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Cm7	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G · Bb	16×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	32×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	14×
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	22×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	28×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 5 different chords appear 112 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

Bb Eb EbV → Iauthentic cadence CmVII → III ×17
Ab Eb EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×14
Gm Cm7 Ebiii → vi7 Cmv → i7natural-minor cadence ×14
Bb Cm7 EbV → vi7deceptive cadence CmVII → i7Aeolian arrival ×2

The move to watch is Bb → Eb, heard 17 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 Bb, land on Bb, D, F — 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.

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

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Eb; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are Eb, Bb, Ab, Cm7; read them as I–V–IV–vi7 in Eb or III–VII–VI–i7 in Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Bb → Eb (V → I in Eb, VII → III in Cm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. It closes on Eb, letting the Eb side have the last word.

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.