Taylor Swift - August - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords Gm, F, C, Bbmaj7, Bb, Dm Easy key G

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Capo 0

F          Bbmaj7
  Salt air    
                      Gm
and the rust on your door

I never needed anything more
F          Bbmaj7             Gm
  Whispers      of "Are you sure?"

Never have I ever before

    F
But I can see us lost in the memory
Bbmaj7
August slipped away 
                  Gm
into a moment in time
                     C
'Cause it was never mine
    F
And I can see us 

twistin' in bedsheets
Bbmaj7
August sipped away 
                  Gm
like a bottle of wine
                       C
'Cause you were never mine

F           Bbmaj7              Gm
  Your back      beneath the sun

Wishin' I could write my name on it
F               Bbmaj7     
  Will you call      
                       Gm
when you're back at school

I remember thinkin' I had you

    Dm
But I can see us lost in the memory
Bbmaj7              
August slipped away 
                  Gm
into a moment in time
                     C
'Cause it was never mine
    Dm
And I can see us 

twistin' in bedsheets
Bbmaj7             
August sipped away 
                  Gm
like a bottle of wine
                       C
'Cause you were never mine

F
  Back when we were still
                  Bb
Changin' for the better
               Gm
Wanting was enough
                 C
For me, it was enough
                 F
To live for the hope of it all
                        Bb
Canceled plans just in case you'd call
                             Gm
And say "meet me behind the mall"
                    C
So much for summer love 

And saying "Us"
                    F         Bb
'Cause you weren't mine to lose
                     Gm   C
You weren't mine to lose, oh

    F
But I can see us lost in the memory
Bb                   
August slipped away 
                  Gm
into a moment in time
                     C
'Cause it was never mine
    F
And I can see us twistin' in bedsheets
Bb                         
August sipped away 
                  Gm
like a bottle of wine
                       C
'Cause you were never mine

F                        Bbmaj7
  'Cause you were never mine
       Gm
Never mine
C
  But do you remember
           F
Remember when I pulled up

And said "Get in the car"
          Bbmaj7
And then canceled my plans

Just in case you'd call
 Gm
Back when I was livin'

For the hope of it all
         C
For the hope of it all

"Meet me behind the mall"
           F
Remember when I pulled up

And said "Get in the car"
          Bbmaj7
And then canceled my plans

Just in case you'd call
 Gm
Back when I was livin'

For the hope of it all
         C
For the hope of it all

"Meet me behind the mall"

           F
Remember when I pulled up

And said "Get in the car"
          Bbmaj7
And then canceled my plans

Just in case you'd call
 Gm
Back when I was livin'

For the hope of it all
         C
For the hope of it all
                    F
For the hope of it all
         Bbmaj7
For the hope of it all
          Gm
(For the hope of it all
         C
For the hope of it all)

F  Bbmaj7  Gm  C

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - August Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – August: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F major side because it opens on F and F is heard 17 times against 2 for Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	17×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	19×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	—
V/vi	A	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	—
IVmaj7	Bbmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F · A	14×
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	5×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	15×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	2×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	2×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	17×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	19×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	—
V	A	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E	—
VImaj7	Bbmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F · A	14×
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	5×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	15×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 6 different chords appear 72 times in total; 6 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

Gm C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×15
C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×13
Gm Dm Fii → vi Dmiv → iminor plagal ×1
C Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×1

The move to watch is Gm → C, heard 15 times. From the F side it reads ii → V (ii → V: the classic preparation of the dominant); from the Dm side it is iv → VII. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over Gm, land on G, Bb, D — 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.
Over C, land on C, E, G — 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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am 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 F; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are Gm, F, C, Bbmaj7; read them as ii–I–V–IVmaj7 in F or iv–III–VII–VImaj7 in Dm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Gm → C (ii → V in F, iv → VII in Dm): ii → V — the classic preparation of the dominant. Ending on C, the song seals F 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.