Lady Gaga - Alejandro - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, Am, F, G, Em Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Intro 4x: Am  C  Em

          Am        C       Em
She's got both hands in her pocket
    Am               C               Em
And she wont look at you, won't look you
          Am        C          Em
She hides true love,  en su bolsillo
           Am              C              Em
Shes got a halo around her finger, around you

Ponte:
F              C             Em
You know that I love you boy, hot like Mexico, rejoice
Am              C              Em
At this point I gotta choose nothing to loose

Refrão:
              F                   C        G      Am
Don't call my name, don't call my name, Alejandro
             F                  C        G      Am
I'm not your babe, I'm not your babe, Fernando
            F                 C                     G         Am
Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch, just smoke my cigarette and hush
              F                   C       G     Am
Don't call my name, don't call my name, Roberto
   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro
   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro

Am          C     Em                   Am     C            Em

          Am     C             Em
She's not broken, she's just a baby
        Am                 C                Em
But her boyfriend's like a dad, just like a dad
           Am                  C        Em
Draw those flames that, burn before him
    Am              C                          Em
Now he's gonna find fly a kite, gonna fool you bad

             Am               C   Em
Don't bother me, don't bother me, Alejandro
              Am                  C     Em
Don't call my name, don't call my name, bye Fernando
             F                  C     G  Am
I'm not your babe, I'm not your babe, Alejandro
            F                 C         G      Am
Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch, Fernando
              F                   C        G     Am
Don't call my name, don't call my name, Alejandro
             F                   C        G     Am
I'm not your babe,  I'm not your babe, Fernando
            F                 C                     G         Am
Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch, just smoke my cigarette and hush
              F                   C       G     Am
Don't call my name, don't call my name, Roberto
   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro
   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro

   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro
   F          C      G  Am
Alejandro, Alejandro
F               C           G  Am
Ale ale jandro, Ale ale jandro

End of song Play again?

Lady Gaga - Alejandro Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Lady Gaga – Alejandro: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the A minor side because it both starts and finishes on Am and C is heard 36 times against 35 for Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from C 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 C or to Am; 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 C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	36×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	14×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	23×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	22×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	35×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	35×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	36×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	14×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	23×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	22×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 5 different chords appear 130 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

F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×23
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×22
Em Am Ciii → vi Amv → inatural-minor cadence ×11

The move to watch is F → C, heard 23 times. From the Am side it is VI → III; from the C 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

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

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Am lays a solid floor for everything that follows. C, Am, F, G carry the song: I–vi–IV–V relative to C, III–i–VI–VII relative to Am. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on F → C (IV → I in C, VI → III in Am): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on Am, letting the Am side have the last word.

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.