Madonna - Ghosttown - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords D, A, Bm, G, Em7, Gb7, A/C# Easy key G (capo 7)

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Capo 0

Bm  A  D  Em7

 Bm                   A
Maybe it was all too much
     D                 Em7
Too much for a man to take
Bm                      A
Everything's bound to break
 D
Sooner or later, sooner or later

 Bm                     A
You're all that I can trust
 D                  Em7
Facing the darkest days
Bm             A
Everyone ran away
     D
But we're gonna stay here 

We're gonna stay here

Bm           A
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
D                       G
I know you're scared tonight
Bm           A
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
D                      Em7
I'll never leave your side

  G
When it all falls 
        D
When it all falls down
A
I'll be your fire 
          Bm
When the lights go out
  G
When there's no one
       D
No one else around
 A
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          G     D    A
When the world gets cold
Bm
I'll be your cover
 G     D    A
Let's just hold
Bm
Onto each other
  G
When it all falls 
        D
When it all falls down
 A                        Bm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

Repete Intro: Bm  A  D  Em7

 Bm                      A
Tell me how we got this far
D                 Em7
Every man for himself
Bm                    A
Everything's gone to hell
 D
We gotta stay strong 

We're gonna hold on

  Bm                      A
This world has turned to dust
D                      Em7
All we've got left is love
Bm                       A
Might as well start with us
 D
Singing a new song

Something to build on

Bm           A
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
D                       G
I know you're scared tonight
Bm           A
   Ah ah ah,   ah ah ah
D                      Em7
I'll never leave your side

  G
When it all falls 
  D
When it all falls down
A
I'll be your fire 
  Bm
When the lights go out
  G
When there's no one
 D
No one else around
 A
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          G    D       A
When the world   gets cold
Bm
   I'll be your cover
 G    D       A
Let's   just hold
Bm
   Onto each other
  G
When it all falls 
  D
When it all falls down
 A                 Bm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

Bm                 Gb7
   I know we're alright
                       G
Cause we'll never be alone

In this mad mad 
D          A/C#    Bm
  In this mad mad world
              Gb7
Even with no light
                        G
We're gonna shine like gold

In this mad mad 
D          A/C#    G  D  A  Bm  G  D  A
  In this mad mad world

  G
When it all falls 
        D
When it all falls down
A
I'll be your fire 
          Bm
When the lights go out
  G
When there's no one
       D
No one else around
 A
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

  G
When it all falls 
  D
When it all falls down
A
I'll be your fire 
  Bm
When the lights go out
  G
When there's no one
 D
No one else around
 A
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

          G    D       A
When the world   gets cold
Bm
   I'll be your cover
 G    D       A
Let's   just hold
Bm
   Onto each other
  G
When it all falls 
  D
When it all falls down
 A                 Bm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town
  G
When it all falls 
  D
When it all falls down
 A                 Bm
We'll be two souls in a ghost town

End of song Play again?

Madonna - Ghosttown Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – Ghosttown: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Bm and ends on Bm. 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)
#7 = A# (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 B minor side because it both starts and finishes on Bm, D is heard 35 times against 30 for Bm and the major V chord points straight at Bm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from D 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 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	35×
ii7	Em7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B · D	7×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
V7/vi	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	2×
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	24×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	33×
V	A/C#	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	2×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	30×
vii°	C#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C# · E · G	—

Seen from B minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bm	Tonic — home	B · D · F#	30×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	35×
iv7	Em7	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B · D	7×
v	F#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	F# · A · C#	—
V7	Gb7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	2×
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	24×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	33×
VII	A/C#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	2×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 133 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Bm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from D, the same Gb7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Bm.

Chord movement

G D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×22
A Bm DV → videceptive cadence BmVII → iAeolian arrival ×15
A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×13
Em7 Bm Dii7 → vi Bmiv7 → iminor plagal ×5
G Bm DIV → vi BmVI → iVI → i ×2
A/C# Bm DV → videceptive cadence BmVII → iAeolian arrival ×1

The move to watch is G → D, heard 22 times. From the Bm side it is VI → III; from the D 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

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 A, land on A, C#, E — 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.
When Gb7 comes, swap the scale's A for A#: 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 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

The first chord is Bm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are D, A, Bm, G; read them as I–V–vi–IV in D or III–VII–i–VI in Bm. Gb7 is the interesting twist: in D it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Bm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on G → D (IV → I in D, VI → III in Bm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is Bm; the ear comes to rest in Bm.

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.