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)
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah - Chord
Key D major – B minor Chords D, Bm, A, F#m, G Easy key C (capo 2)
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Key: D | Bm
Capo: 0
D F#m D F#m
D F#m
Hey there Delilah, What’s it like in New York City
D F#m
I’m a thousand miles away, But girl tonight you look so pretty
Bm A G A Bm
Yes you do, Time Square can’t shine as bright as you
A
I swear it’s true
D F#m
Hey there Delilah, Don’t you worry about the distance
D F#m
I’m right there if you get lonely, Give this song another listen,
Bm A G A Bm
Close your eyes, listen to my voice it’s my disguise
A
I’m by your side
D Bm D Bm A
Oh it’s what you do to me, oh it’s what you do to me
D Bm D Bm
Oh it’s what you do to me, oh it’s what you do to me
D
What you do to me
D F#m
Hey there Delilah, I know times are getting hard,
D F#m
But just believe me girl some day, I'll pay the bills with this guitar
Bm A G A Bm
We'll have it good, we'll have the life we knew we would
A
My word is good
D F#m
Hey there Delilah, I’ve got so much left to say
D F#m
If every simple song I wrote to you, Would take your breath away
Bm A G A Bm
I’d write it all, even more in love with me you’d fall
A
We’d have it all
D Bm D Bm A
Oh it’s what you do to me, oh it’s what you do to me
D Bm D Bm A
Oh it’s what you do to me,oh it’s what you do to me
G A
A thousand miles seems pretty far, But they’ve got planes and trains and cars
D Bm
I’d walk to you if I had no other way
G A
Our friends would all make fun of us and we'll just laugh along because
D Bm
We know that none of them have felt this way
G A
Delilah I can promise you, That by the time that we get through
Bm A
The world will never ever be the same and you’re to blame
D F#m
Hey there Delilah you be good, And don’t you miss me
D F#m
Two more years and you’ll be done with school and I'll be making history
Bm G A Bm
Like I do, You’ll know it's all because of you
G A Bm
We can do whatever we want to
G A Bm A
Hey there Delilah here's to you, this one’s for you
D Bm D Bm A
Oh it’s what you do to me, oh it’s what you do to me
D Bm D Bm
Oh it’s what you do to me, oh it’s what you do to me
D
What you do to me
Bm D Bm D Bm D Bm D D
Ohhh
End of song Play again?
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Plain White T's – Hey There Delilah: 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 33 times against 31 for Bm. 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 | 33× |
| ii | Em | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · B | — |
| iii | F#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | F# · A · C# | 12× |
| V/vi | F# | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant | F# · A# · C# | — |
| IV | G | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · B · D | 10× |
| V | A | Dominant — strongest pull home | A · C# · E | 24× |
| vi | Bm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | B · D · F# | 31× |
| vii° | C#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | C# · E · G | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | Tonic — home | B · D · F# | 31× |
| ii° | C#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C# · E · G | — |
| III | D | Relative major — the bright side | D · F# · A | 33× |
| iv | Em | Subdominant — moves away from home | E · G · B | — |
| v | F#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | F# · A · C# | 12× |
| V | F# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | F# · A# · C# | — |
| VI | G | Submediant — warm colour | G · B · D | 10× |
| VII | A | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | A · C# · E | 24× |
Analysis
The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 5 different chords appear 110 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.
Chord movement
- A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×11
- G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×10
- A Bm DV → videceptive cadence BmVII → iAeolian arrival ×8
- F#m Bm Diii → vi Bmv → inatural-minor cadence ×5
The move to watch is A → D, heard 11 times. From the D side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Bm side it is VII → 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 Bm, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over A, land on A, C#, E — 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 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
- 2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
- 5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
The song's harmonic story
The opening D lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are D, Bm, A, F#m; read them as I–vi–V–iii in D or III–i–VII–v in Bm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on A → D (V → I in D, VII → III in Bm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. 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.
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah 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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