Madonna - La Isla Bonita - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords C#m, B, F#m, E, A, D, G#7 Easy key G

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Capo 0

C#m             B            C#m
Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
A       C#m       E            B
  Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song
  C#m              B             C#m
A young girl with eyes like the desert
A    C#m             E             B
  It all seems like yesterday, not far away


C#m              B
Tropical the island breeze
F#m              E
All of nature wild and free
B                F#m
This is where I long to be
F#m      B C#m
La isla bonita
C#m             B
  And when the samba played
F#m               E
  The sun would set so high
         B               F#m
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
       F#m     B  C#m
Your Spanish lullaby


C#m        B            C#m
I fell in love with San Pedro
A       C#m         E                B
  Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me
C#m         B      C#m
        Te dijo te amo
A     C#m            E                     B
  I prayed that the days would last, they went so fast


C#m              B
Tropical the island breeze
F#m              E
All of nature wild and free
B                F#m
This is where I long to be
F#m      B C#m
La isla bonita
C#m             B
  And when the samba played
F#m               E
  The sun would set so high
         B               F#m
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
       F#m     B  C#m
Your Spanish lullaby


F#m        D            E            F#m
I want to be where the sun warms the sky
           F#m         D            E            
When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by
F#m        D          E            F#m
Beautiful faces, no cares in this world
         F#m           D         E       G#7     C#m
Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy ... loves a girl


C#m        B   C#m 
girl

A   C#m   E   B


C#m             B           C#m
Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
A    C#m              E             B
  It all seems like yesterday, not far away 


C#m              B
Tropical the island breeze
F#m              E
All of nature wild and free
B                F#m
This is where I long to be
F#m      B C#m
La isla bonita
C#m             B
  And when the samba played
F#m               E
  The sun would set so high
         B                F#m
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
       F#m     B  C#m
Your Spanish lullaby

End of song Play again?

Madonna - La Isla Bonita Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – La Isla Bonita: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C#m and ends on C#m. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (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 C# minor side because it both starts and finishes on C#m, C#m is heard 31 times against 16 for E and the major V chord points straight at C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from E major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to E or to C#m; 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 E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	16×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	24×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V7/vi	G#7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to C#msecondary dominant	G# · B# · D# · F#	1×
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	6×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	30×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	31×
bVII	D	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	D · F# · A	4×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	31×
bII	D	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	D · F# · A	4×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	16×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	24×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V7	G#7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D# · F#	1×
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	6×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	30×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 7 different chords appear 112 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of C#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from E, the same G#7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for C#m. D is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

B C#m EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×18
A C#m EIV → vi C#mVI → iVI → i ×6
F#m B Eii → Vii → V C#miv → VII ×6
D E EbVII → IbVII → I C#mbII → III ×4
G#7 C#m EV7/vi → visecondary resolution C#mV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×1

The move to watch is B → C#m, heard 18 times. From the C#m side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home); from the E side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected E, lands on C#m). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over C#m, land on C#, E, G# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over B, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F#m, land on F#, A, C# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When G#7 comes, swap the scale's B for B#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On D, follow the chord's notes (D · F# · A) 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 E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening C#m lays a solid floor for everything that follows. C#m, B, F#m, E carry the song: vi–V–ii–I relative to E, i–VII–iv–III relative to C#m. G#7 is the interesting twist: in E it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in C#m it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on B → C#m (V → vi in E, VII → i in C#m): Aeolian arrival — rises a whole tone into home. The final chord is C#m; the ear comes to rest in C#m.

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.