Major view
D major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = C# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = G (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Chord
Key D major – B minor Chords D, G, E, C, Bb, A, D5, C#5 … Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: D | Bm
Capo: 0
D Dsus4 D
D G C G
This thing, called love, I just can't handle it,
D G C G
This thing, called love, I must, get round to it,
D Bb C D
I ain't ready, Crazy little thing called love
D G C G
This thing, called love, it cries, in a cradle all night,
D G C G
It swings, it jives, it shakes all over like a jellyfish,
D Bb C D
I kinda like it, Crazy little thing called love
G C G
There goes my baby, she knows how to rock and roll,
Bb E
She drives me crazy, she gives me hot and cold fever,
A
Then she leaves me in a cool, cool sweat.
D5 C#5 C5 A5 G#5 G5
E E E E E E E A
D
I gotta be cool, relax, get hip,
G C G D
Get on my tracks, take a back seat, hitch hike
G C G D
And take a long ride on my motor bike until I'm ready,
Bb C D
Crazy little thing called love
Bb D
Bb E A F
D5 C#5 C5 A5 G#5 G5
E E E E E E E A
D G C G
This thing, called love, I just can't handle it,
D G C G
This thing, called love, I must, get round to it,
D Bb C D
I ain't ready, Crazy little thing called love.
Bb C D
Crazy little thing called love.
Bb C D
Crazy little thing called love, yeah, yeah
End of song Play again?
Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love: key and chord analysis
The song opens on D and ends on D. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
B minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = G (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = A (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D major side because it both starts and finishes on D and D is heard 24 times while Bm never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from B minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to D or to Bm; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | D | Tonic — home | D · F# · A | 21× |
| I | D5 | Tonic — home | D · A | 2× |
| Isus4 | Dsus4 | Tonic — home | D · G · A | 1× |
| ii | Em | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · B | — |
| V/V | E | Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant | E · G# · B | 16× |
| bIII | F | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | F · A · C | 1× |
| iii | F#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | F# · A · C# | — |
| III | F# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | F# · A# · C# | — |
| IV | G | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · B · D | 18× |
| IV | G5 | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · D | 2× |
| #IV | G#5 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G# · D# | 2× |
| V | A | Dominant — strongest pull home | A · C# · E | 4× |
| V | A5 | Dominant — strongest pull home | A · E | 2× |
| bVI | Bb | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | Bb · D · F | 9× |
| vi | Bm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | B · D · F# | — |
| bVII | C | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | C · E · G | 15× |
| bVII | C5 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · G | 2× |
| VII | C#5 | Leading-tone chord — tension | C# · G# | 2× |
| vii° | C#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | C# · E · G | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | Tonic — home | B · D · F# | — |
| bII | C | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | C · E · G | 15× |
| bII | C5 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · G | 2× |
| II | C#5 | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C# · G# | 2× |
| ii° | C#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C# · E · G | — |
| III | D | Relative major — the bright side | D · F# · A | 21× |
| III | D5 | Relative major — the bright side | D · A | 2× |
| IIIsus4 | Dsus4 | Relative major — the bright side | D · G · A | 1× |
| iv | Em | Subdominant — moves away from home | E · G · B | — |
| IV | E | Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour | E · G# · B | 16× |
| #IV | F | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | F · A · C | 1× |
| v | F#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | F# · A · C# | — |
| V | F# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | F# · A# · C# | — |
| VI | G | Submediant — warm colour | G · B · D | 18× |
| VI | G5 | Submediant — warm colour | G · D | 2× |
| #VI | G#5 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G# · D# | 2× |
| VII | A | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | A · C# · E | 4× |
| VII | A5 | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | A · E | 2× |
| #VII | Bb | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | Bb · D · F | 9× |
Analysis
The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 14 different chords appear 97 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. C, Bb, F are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
- G D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×8
- C D DbVII → IbVII → I BmbII → III ×6
- A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×2
- A D5 DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×1
The move to watch is G → D, heard 8 times. From the D side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Bm side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- D major pentatonic and B minor pentatonic are the same five notes (D – E – F# – A – B): start from D for a brighter phrase, from B for a bluesier one.
- Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over G, land on G, B, D — 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.
- On C, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G) 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 D major shapes
- No capo — open D shapes
- Capo 2 + C shapes
- Capo 5 + A shapes
With B minor shapes
- Capo 2 + Am shapes
- Capo 7 + Em 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 D; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is D, G, E, C — I–IV–V/V–bVII from the D side, III–VI–IV–bII from the Bm side. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to A. Keep an ear on G → D (IV → I in D, VI → III in Bm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is D; the ear comes to rest in D.
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.
Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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