Bob Dylan - One More Cup Of Coffee - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords F, E, E7, Am, G Difficulty already in its easiest key

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

Am G F E Am G F E

     Am 
Your breath is sweet, your eyes are like
    G
two jewels in the sky
F                   
Your back is straight your hair is smooth,
       E                E7
on the pillow where you lie.
Am
But I don't sense affection,
   G
no gratitude or love.
F                           E             E7
Your loyalty is not me, but to the stars above

F                            E  E7
One more cup of coffee for I go.
F                            E  E7
One more cup of coffee for I go,
                  Am   G F E E7
down the valley below.

     Am
Your daddy he's an outlaw,
      G
and a wanderer by trade.
F            
He'll teach you how to pick an choose,
    E                E7
and how to throw the blade.
Am
And he oversees his kingdom,
      G
so no stranger does intrude.
F
His voice it trembles as he calls out,
E                    E7
for another plate of food

F                              E  E7
One more cup of coffee for the road.
F                            E  E7
One more cup of coffee for I go,
                Am   G F E E7
to the valley below.

     Am
Your sister sees the future,
          G
like your momma and yourself.

F
You've never learned to read or write,
        E                  E7
there's no books upon your shelf.
Am
And your pleasure know no limits,
              G
your voice is like a meadow lark.
F
But your heart is like an ocean,
E              E7
mysterious and dark.

F                              E  E7
One more cup of coffee for the road.
F                            E  E7
One more cup of coffee for I go,
                Am   G F E E7
to the valley below

End of song Play again?

Bob Dylan - One More Cup Of Coffee Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bob Dylan – One More Cup Of Coffee: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on E7. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G# (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 A minor side because it opens on Am, Am is heard 11 times while C never appears and the major V chord points straight at Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from C 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 C or to Am; 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 C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	—
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	17×
V7/vi	E7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	15×
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	17×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	11×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	11×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	11×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	—
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	17×
V7	E7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B · D	15×
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	17×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	11×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 5 different chords appear 71 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E / E7 is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am.

Chord movement

E7 Am CV7/vi → visecondary resolution AmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×8
E Am CV/vi → vi AmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×2

The move to watch is E7 → Am, heard 8 times. From the Am side it is V7 → i (harmonic-minor cadence: the major V resolves dramatically); from the C side it reads V7/vi → vi (secondary resolution: E7 resolves a fourth up to Am). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E7, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E comes, swap the scale's G for G#: 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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Am; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are F, E, E7, Am; read them as IV–V/vi–V7/vi–vi in C or VI–V–V7–i in Am. E is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on E7 → Am (V7/vi → vi in C, V7 → i in Am): harmonic-minor cadence — the major V resolves dramatically. It closes on E7, letting the C 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.