Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Eb, Bb7, C#dim, Cm, Fm, Ab Easy key D (capo 1)

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Capo 0

       Eb               C#dim      Bb7
Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
                              Eb
And it shows them pearly white
        Cm                    Fm
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
Ab      Bb7                   Eb   C#dim  Bb7
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight

                 Eb              C#dim      Bb7
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
                               Eb
Scarlet billows start to spread
           Cm                    Fm
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe
Ab       Bb7                       Eb   C#dim  Bb7
So there's never, never a trace of red


Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, 
whoo sunny morning, un huh
Lies a body just oozin' life, eek
And someone's sneakin' 'round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife

There's a tugboat, huh, huh, down by the river dontcha know
Where a cement bag's just a'drooppin' on down
Oh, that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear
Five'll get ya ten old Macky's back in town

Now d'ja hear 'bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawin' out all his hard-earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy's done somethin' rash

Now Jenny Diver, ho, ho, yeah, Sukey Tawdry
Ooh, Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky's back in town

End of song Play again?

Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bobby Darin – Mack the Knife: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Eb and ends on Bb7. 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 opens on Eb and Eb is heard 6 times against 2 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	6×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	2×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	2×
V7	Bb7	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F · Ab	6×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	2×
bvii°	C#dim	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E · G	4×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	2×
bii°	C#dim	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E · G	4×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	6×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	2×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	—
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	2×
VII7	Bb7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F · Ab	6×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 6 different chords appear 22 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C#dim step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

Bb7 Eb EbV7 → Iauthentic cadence CmVII7 → III ×5
Ab Bb7 EbIV → V7IV → V CmVI → VII7VI → VII ×2

The move to watch is Bb7 → Eb, heard 5 times. From the Eb side it reads V7 → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Cm side it is VII7 → 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 Bb7, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C#dim, land on C#, E, G — 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

1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch
4 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The opening Eb lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Eb, Bb7, C#dim, Cm; read them as I–V7–bvii°–vi in Eb or III–VII7–bii°–i in Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Bb7 → Eb (V7 → I in Eb, VII7 → III in Cm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is Bb7; the ear comes to rest in Eb.

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.

Bobby Darin - Mack the Knife 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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