Sia - Alive - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords F#m, D, E, A, C#m, Bm, C# Easy key C

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Capo 0

F#m  C#m  D

F#m   C#m       D
I was born in a thunderstorm
F#m    C#m    D     F#m        C#m
I grew up overnight, I played alone
            D               Bm
I'm playing on my own, I survived
   F#m        C#m          D
Hey, I wanted everything I never had
F#m      C#m       D
Like the love that comes with life
F#m    C#m          D
I wore envy and I hated it
         C#
But I survived

      F#m                 C#m                 D
I had one way ticket to a place where all the demons go
          F#m                   C#m                       D
Where the wind don't change and nothing in the ground can ever grow
   F#m                        C#m              D
No hope, just lies and you're taught to cry in your pillow
            C#
But I'll survive

          F#m                  D
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
          F#m                  D
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      A     E  F#m  D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive

F#m      C#m             D
 I found solace in the strangest place
F#m         C#m        D
 Way in the back of my mind
F#m       C#m         D                 C#
 I saw my life in a stranger's face and it was mine

      F#m                 C#m                 D
I had one way ticket to a place where all the demons go
          F#m                   C#m                       D
Where the wind don't change and nothing in the ground can ever grow
   F#m                        C#m              D
No hope, just lies and you're taught to cry in your pillow
            C#
But I'll survive

          F#m                  D
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
          F#m                  D
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      A     E  F#m  D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive

F#m                   E
 You took it all, but I'm still breathing
A                    D
You took it all, but I'm still breathing
F#m                   E
 You took it all, but I'm still breathing
A                    D
You took it all, but I'm still breathing
A                    E
You took it all, but I'm still breathing
F#m                   D
 You took it all, but I'm still breathing
F#m                   E
 You took it all, but I'm still breathing
A                    D
You took it all, but I'm still breathing

Bm
I had made every single mistake
  F#m                  E
That you could ever possibly make
  Bm
I took and I took and I took what you gave
    F#m                    E
But you never noticed that I was in pain
   Bm
I knew what I wanted, I went in and got it
F#m                          E
Did all the things that you said that I wouldn't
   Bm
I told you that I would never be forgotten
    F#m             E  C#
And all in spite of youuuu

            F#m  A               D  Bm
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
            F#m  E               D  Bm
I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive,
(You took it all but I'm still breathing. You took it all but I'm still breathing)
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive,
(You took it all but I'm still breathing. You took it all but I'm still breathing)
      A   E   F#m   D
I'm alive,
(You took it all but I'm still breathing. You took it all but I'm still breathing)

I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D
I'm alive
      A   E   F#m   D
I'm alive
      F#m   E   A   D   F#m
I'm alive

End of song Play again?

Sia - Alive Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sia – Alive: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (natural-minor colour)
#7 = E# (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 F# minor side because it both starts and finishes on F#m, F#m is heard 46 times against 20 for A and the major V chord points straight at F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from A 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 A or to F#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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	20×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	7×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	16×
V/vi	C#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to F#msecondary dominant	C# · E# · G#	5×
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	41×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	24×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	46×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	46×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	20×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	7×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	16×
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	5×
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	41×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	24×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 7 different chords appear 159 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of F#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from A, the same C# is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for F#m.

Chord movement

D F#m AIV → vi F#mVI → iVI → i ×28
E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×14
Bm F#m Aii → vi F#miv → iminor plagal ×7
C# F#m AV/vi → vi F#mV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×5
D A AIV → Iplagal cadence F#mVI → III ×5
E F#m AV → videceptive cadence F#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×5

The move to watch is D → F#m, heard 28 times. From the F#m side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home); from the A side it reads IV → vi. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is F#m; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is F#m, D, E, A — vi–IV–V–I from the A side, i–VI–VII–III from the F#m side. C# is the interesting twist: in A it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in F#m it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on D → F#m (IV → vi in A, VI → i in F#m): VI → i — falls a half step into home. The final chord is F#m; the ear comes to rest in F#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.

Sia - Alive 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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