Madonna - Ghosttown - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords F, C, Dm, Bb, Gm7, A7, C/E Easy key G

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Capo 0

Dm   C   F   Gm7

 Dm                   C
Maybe it was all too much
     F                 Gm7
Too much for a man to take
Dm                      C
Everything's bound to break
 F
Sooner or later, sooner or later

 Dm                     C
You're all that I can trust
 F                  Gm7
Facing the darkest days
Dm             C
Everyone ran away
     F
But we're gonna stay here 

We're gonna stay here

Dm           C
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
F                       Bb
I know you're scared tonight
Dm           C
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
F                      Gm7
I'll never leave your side


  Bb
When it all falls 
        F
When it all falls down
C
I'll be your fire 
          Dm
When the lights go out
  Bb
When there's no one
       F
No one else around
 C
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          Bb     F    C
When the world gets cold
Dm
I'll be your cover
 Bb     F    C
Let's just hold
Dm
Onto each other
  Bb
When it all falls 
        F
When it all falls down
 C                        Dm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

Repete Intro: Dm  C  F  Gm7


 Dm                      C
Tell me how we got this far
F                 Gm7
Every man for himself
Dm                    C
Everything's gone to hell
 F
We gotta stay strong 

We're gonna hold on

  Dm                      C
This world has turned to dust
F                      Gm7
All we've got left is love
Dm                       C
Might as well start with us
 F
Singing a new song

Something to build on

Dm           C
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
F                       Bb
I know you're scared tonight
Dm           C
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
F                      Gm7
I'll never leave your side


  Bb
When it all falls 
  F
When it all falls down
C
I'll be your fire 
  Dm
When the lights go out
  Bb
When there's no one
 F
No one else around
 C
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          Bb    F       C
When the world   gets cold
Dm
   I'll be your cover
 Bb    F       C
Let's   just hold
Dm
   Onto each other
  Bb
When it all falls 
  F
When it all falls down
 C                 Dm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town


Dm                 A7
   I know we're alright
                       Bb
Cause we'll never be alone

In this mad mad 
F          C/E    Dm
  In this mad mad world
              A7
Even with no light
                        Bb
We're gonna shine like gold

In this mad mad 
F          C/E    Bb   F   C   Dm   Bb   F   C
  In this mad mad world


  Bb
When it all falls 
        F
When it all falls down
C
I'll be your fire 
          Dm
When the lights go out
  Bb
When there's no one
       F
No one else around
 C
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

  Bb
When it all falls 
  F
When it all falls down
C
I'll be your fire 
  Dm
When the lights go out
  Bb
When there's no one
 F
No one else around
 C
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          Bb    F       C
When the world   gets cold
Dm
   I'll be your cover
 Bb    F       C
Let's   just hold
Dm
   Onto each other
  Bb
When it all falls 
  F
When it all falls down
 C                 Dm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town
  Bb
When it all falls 
  F
When it all falls down
 C                 Dm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

End of song Play again?

Madonna - Ghosttown Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – Ghosttown: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
#7 = C# (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 D minor side because it both starts and finishes on Dm, F is heard 35 times against 30 for Dm and the major V chord points straight at Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from F 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 F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	35×
ii7	Gm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D · F	7×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	—
V7/vi	A7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E · G	2×
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	24×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	33×
V	C/E	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	2×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	30×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	30×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	35×
iv7	Gm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D · F	7×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	—
V7	A7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E · G	2×
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	24×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	33×
VII	C/E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	2×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 7 different chords appear 133 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm.

Chord movement

Bb F FIV → Iplagal cadence DmVI → III ×22
C Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×15
C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×13
Gm7 Dm Fii7 → vi Dmiv7 → iminor plagal ×5
Bb Dm FIV → vi DmVI → iVI → i ×2
C/E Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×1

The move to watch is Bb → F, heard 22 times. From the Dm side it is VI → III; from the F side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When A7 comes, swap the scale's C for C#: 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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones up
5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Dm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is F, C, Dm, Bb — I–V–vi–IV from the F side, III–VII–i–VI from the Dm side. A7 is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bb → F (IV → I in F, VI → III in Dm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on Dm, the song seals Dm 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.