Taylor Swift - Opalite - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords D/F#, Cmaj7, Em, G, Am, D Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Cmaj7  D/F#  Cmaj7  D/F#

            Cmaj7
I had a bad habit
   D/F#           Cmaj7
Of missing lovers past
   D/F#            Cmaj7
My brother used to call it
 D/F#              Em
"Eating out of the trash"
                 D/F#
It's never gonna last
                       Cmaj7
I thought my house was haunted
  D/F#              Cmaj7
I used to live with ghosts
    D/F#            Cmaj7
And all the perfect couples
      D/F#              Em
Said "When you know you know"
                        D/F#
And "When you don't you don't"

    Cmaj7                                   D/F#
And all of the foes and all of the friends (ah, ah)
     Cmaj7                                 D/F#
Have seen it before, they'll see it again (ah, ah)
Cmaj7
Life is a song, it ends when it ends
D/F#    Em
I was wrong

D/F#                G
But my mama told me it's alright
                             Em
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
                 Am
Sleepless in the onyx night
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite
             G
Oh oh oh oh, oh my Lord
                       Em
Never made no one like you before
                     Am
You had to make your own sunshine
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite (oh oh)

                  Cmaj7
You couldn't understand it
D/F#         Cmaj7
Why you felt alone
D/F#           Cmaj7
You were in it for real
  D/F#         Em
She was in her phone
                    D/F#
And you were just a pose
                    Cmaj7
And don't we try to love love?
   D/F#           Cmaj7
We give it all we got
    D/F#             Cmaj7
You finally left the table
    D/F#          Em
And what a simple thought
                            D/F#
You're starving 'til you're not

    Cmaj7                                   D/F#
And all of the foes and all of the friends (ah, ah)
     Cmaj7                                    D/F#
Have messed up before, they'll mess up again (ah, ah)
Cmaj7
Life is a song, it ends when it ends
D/F#      m
You move on

D/F#                       G
And that's when I told you it's alright
                             Em
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
                 Am
Sleepless in the onyx night
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite
             G
Oh oh oh oh, oh my Lord
                      Em
Never met no one like you before
                     Am
You had to make your own sunshine
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite

G                             Em
This is just a storm inside a teacup
                      Am
But shelter here with me, my love
               D
Thunder like a drum, this life will beat you up, up, up, up
G                        Em
This is just a temporary speed bump
                       Am
But failure brings you freedom
                    D
And I can bring you love, love, love, love, love!
 
Don't you sweat it, baby

G
It's alright
                             Em
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
                        Am
(Oh so) Sleepless in the onyx night
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite
             G
Oh oh oh oh, oh my Lord
                      Em
Never met no one like you before
                     Am
You had to make your own sunshine
                   D
But now the sky is Opalite
            G
Oh oh oh oh oh

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Opalite Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Opalite: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cmaj7 and ends on G. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between G major and E minor because it comes to rest on G and Em is heard 13 times against 9 for G. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; 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 G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	9×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	8×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IVmaj7	Cmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G · B	20×
V	D/F#	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	25×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	8×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	13×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	13×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	9×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	8×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VImaj7	Cmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G · B	20×
VII	D/F#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	25×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	8×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 6 different chords appear 83 times in total; 6 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

Cmaj7 D/F# GIVmaj7 → VIV → V EmVImaj7 → VIIVI → VII ×20
Am D Gii → Vii → V Emiv → VII ×8
D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×7
D/F# Em GV → videceptive cadence EmVII → iAeolian arrival ×5
D/F# G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×2

The move to watch is Cmaj7 → D/F#, heard 20 times. From the G side it reads IVmaj7 → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Em side it is VImaj7 → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over D/F#, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Cmaj7, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Em, land on E, G, B — 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 G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Cmaj7, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. D/F#, Cmaj7, Em, G carry the song: V–IVmaj7–vi–I relative to G, VII–VImaj7–i–III relative to Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Cmaj7 → D/F# (IVmaj7 → V in G, VImaj7 → VII in Em): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. Ending on G, the song seals G 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.