Lana Del Rey - Doin' Time - Chord

Key Bb major – G minor Chords Gm, C, Cm, D7 Easy key C

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Capo 0

Gm  C   Gm  C 

     Gm     C                   Gm
Summertime,   and the livin's easy
                 C                    Gm
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
                      C                     Gm
All the people in the dance will agree that we're
                  C                 Cm
Well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
                           D7
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
                                        Gm
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder

Gm           C                   Gm         C
   Me and my girl, we got this relationship
Gm               C            Gm                  C
   I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit
Gm        C                      Gm    C 
   On lockdown, like a penitentiary
                Gm                  C 
She spreads her lovin' all over and when she gets home
             Gm          C 
There's none left for me

      Gm   C                    Gm
Summertime,   and the livin's easy
                 C                    Gm
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
                      C                     Gm
All the people in the dance will agree that we're
                  C                 Cm
Well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
                           D7
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
                                 Gm     C    Gm   C
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder

Gm    C                   Gm          C
   Oh take this veil from off my eyes
Gm    C                Gm           C
   My burning sun will someday rise
   Gm                             C 
So what am I gonna be doin' for a while?
               Gm               C 
Said I'm gonna play with myself
Gm            C          Gm            C
Show them how we've come off the shelf

      Gm   C                    Gm
Summertime,   and the livin's easy
                 C                    Gm
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
                      C                     Gm
All the people in the dance will agree that we're
                  C                 Cm
Well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
                           D7
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
                                 Gm     C    Gm   C
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder

Gm         C                           Gm       
Evil, I've come to tell you that she's evil, most
  C 
definitely
Gm    C                      Gm         C 
Evil, ornery, scandalous and evil, most definitely
    Gm      C               Gm     C 
The tension,   it's getting hotter
            Gm       C            Gm    C
I'd like to hold her,   head underwater
      Gm  C  Gm  C  Gm  C 
Summertime
Gm     C 
   Ah, ah, ah

      Gm   C                    Gm
Summertime,   and the livin's easy
                 C                    Gm
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
                      C                     Gm
All the people in the dance will agree that we're
                  C                 Cm
Well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
                           D7
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party

And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder

End of song Play again?

Lana Del Rey - Doin' Time Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Lana Del Rey – Doin' Time: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Gm and ends on D7. Its chords belong to both Bb major and Gm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Bb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

G minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Eb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = F (natural-minor colour)
#7 = F# (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 G minor side because it opens on Gm, Gm is heard 51 times while Bb never appears and the major V chord points straight at Gm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Bb 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 Bb or to Gm; 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 Bb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Bb	Tonic — home	Bb · D · F	—
ii	Cm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C · Eb · G	4×
II	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	50×
iii	Dm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	D · F · A	—
V7/vi	D7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Gmsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	4×
IV	Eb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Eb · G · Bb	—
V	F	Dominant — strongest pull home	F · A · C	—
vi	Gm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	G · Bb · D	51×
vii°	Adim	Leading-tone chord — tension	A · C · Eb	—

Seen from G minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Gm	Tonic — home	G · Bb · D	51×
ii°	Adim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · Eb	—
III	Bb	Relative major — the bright side	Bb · D · F	—
iv	Cm	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · Eb · G	4×
IV	C	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	C · E · G	50×
v	Dm	Minor dominant — soft pull	D · F · A	—
V7	D7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	D · F# · A · C	4×
VI	Eb	Submediant — warm colour	Eb · G · Bb	—
VII	F	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	F · A · C	—

Analysis

The key pair is Bb major and its relative G minor (2 flats). 4 different chords appear 109 times in total; 2 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Gm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Bb, the same D7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Gm. C step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

Cm D7 Bbii → V7/vi Gmiv → V7iv → V ×4
D7 Gm BbV7/vi → visecondary resolution GmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×3

The move to watch is Cm → D7, heard 4 times. From the Gm side it is iv → V7 (iv → V: the minor side's tension builder); from the Bb side it reads ii → V7/vi. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

Bb major pentatonic and G minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Bb – C – D – F – G): start from Bb for a brighter phrase, from G for a bluesier one.
Over Gm, land on G, Bb, D — 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 Cm, land on C, Eb, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When D7 comes, swap the scale's F for F#: 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 Bb major shapes

Capo 1 + A shapes
Capo 3 + G shapes
Capo 6 + E shapes

With G minor shapes

Capo 3 + Em shapes
Capo 5 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Gm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Gm, C, Cm, D7 — vi–II–ii–V7/vi from the Bb side, i–IV–iv–V7 from the Gm side. D7 is the interesting twist: in Bb it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Gm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Cm → D7 (ii → V7/vi in Bb, iv → V7 in Gm): iv → V — the minor side's tension builder. The final chord is D7; the ear comes to rest in Bb.

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.