Taylor Swift - Love Story - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords A, G, Bm, D, E, B, C#m Easy key G (capo 7)

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Capo 0

D  A  Bm  G

D
We were both young when I first saw you
  G
I close my eyes and the flashback starts
             Bm                    G
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air
D
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
G
See you make your way through the crowd
             Bm
And say, "Hello"
           A
Little did I know

     G                        A
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
       Bm                          D
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
          G
And I was crying on the staircase
A                        Bm  G     A
Begging you please don't go, and I said

D
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
A
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
Bm
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
G                 A                  D
It's a love story baby just say "yes"

   D
So I sneak out to the garden to see you
G
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
              Bm
So close your eyes
                       A
Escape this town for a little while

       G                       A
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
       Bm                        D
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
             G
But you were everything to me I was
A                        Bm  G   A
Begging you please don't go, and I said

D
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
A
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
Bm
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
G                 A
It's a love story baby just say yes
D
Romeo, save me, they try to tell me how to feel
A
This love is difficult, but it's real,
Bm
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
G                 A
It's a love story baby just say yes

D  A  Bm  G  A

               Bm      G             D                       A
I got tired of waiting, wondering if you were ever coming around
                    Bm    G
My faith in you was fading
       D                           A
When I met you on the outskirts of town and I said

D
Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
A
I keep waiting for you but you never come
   Bm
Is this in my head, I don't know what to think
   G                       A
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said
E
Marry me, Juliet you'll never have to be alone
B
I love you, and that's all I really know
  C#m
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
A                 B            E
It's a love story baby just say yes

   B      C#m
Oh oh, oh oh 
A                                   E
We were both young when I first saw you

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Love Story Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Love Story: key and chord analysis

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

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)

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: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between D major and B minor because it opens on D and Bm is heard 15 times against 14 for D. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

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.

Seen from D major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	D	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	14×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	—
V/V	E	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant	E · G# · B	3×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
V/vi	F#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	18×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	23×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	15×
V/ii	B	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	3×
vii°	C#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C# · E · G	—
vii	C#m	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E · G#	2×

Seen from B minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bm	Tonic — home	B · D · F#	15×
V/iv	B	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	3×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
ii	C#m	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E · G#	2×
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	14×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	—
IV	E	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	E · G# · B	3×
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×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	23×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 78 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E, B act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

A Bm DV → videceptive cadence BmVII → iAeolian arrival ×12
G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×11
A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×6
G D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×4
G Bm DIV → vi BmVI → iVI → i ×3

The move to watch is A → Bm, heard 12 times. From the D side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected D, lands on Bm); from the Bm side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home). 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 A, land on A, C#, E — 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 Bm, land on B, D, F# — 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

5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is A, G, Bm, D — V–IV–vi–I from the D side, VII–VI–i–III from the Bm side. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to A. Keep an ear on A → Bm (V → vi in D, VII → i in Bm): deceptive cadence — expected D, lands on Bm. Ending on E, the song seals D 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.