Taylor Swift - You're On Your Own Kid - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords C, G, F2, F, Em, Am7, Am7/E, Am … Easy key A (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C
 Summer went away, still the yearning stays
Em         F
 I play it cool with the best of them
C
 I wait patiently, he's gonna notice me
Em     F                      Am
 It's okay, we're the best of friends
G/B
Anyway
C
 I hear it in your voice, you're smokin' with your boys
Em          F
 I touch my phone as if it's your face
C
 I didn't choose this town, I dream of getting out
Em            F                      Am
 There's just one who could make me stay
G/B
All my days

F2               G                    C
 From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
         Am7             F2   
I waited ages to see you there
             G               C
I search the party of better bodies
        Am7/E                F
Just to learn that you never cared
               G                         C
You're on your own, kid, you always have been

C
 I see the great escape, so long, Daisy May
Em            F
 I picked the petals, he loves me not
C
 Something different bloomed, writing in my room
Em         F                    Am
 I play my songs in the parking lot
     G/B
I'll run away

F2               G                    C
 From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
           Am7             F2   
I called a taxi to take me there
             G               C
I search the party of better bodies
        Am7/E                       F2   
Just to learn that my dreams aren't rare
               G
You're on your own, kid, you always have been

F2               G                    C
 From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
          Am7                        F2   
I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this
         G                      C
I hosted parties and starved my body
            Am7/E              F2   
Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss
                  G                 C
The jokes weren't funny, I took the money
                Am7                     F2   
My friends from home don't know what to say
          G                       C
I looked around in a blood soaked gown
              Am7/E                  F2   
And I saw something they can't take away
                        G
'Cause there were pages turned
                 C
With the bridges burned
               Am7                F2   
Everything you lose is a step you take
                       G
So make the friendship bracelets
                    C
Take the moment and taste it
              Am7           F2   
You've got no reason to be afraid
               G
You're on your own, kid

F2             G
 Yeah, you can face this
F2              G
 You're on your own, kid
                C
You always have been

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - You're On Your Own Kid Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – You're On Your Own Kid: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on C. 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. 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	—
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	6×
bIIIsus2	F2	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · G · C	14×
bIII	F	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	7×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
III	F#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	15×
IV	G/B	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	3×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	—
v7	Am7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G	6×
v7	Am7/E	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G	4×
v	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	3×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	—
bVII	C	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	C · E · G	18×
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#	—
bII	C	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	C · E · G	18×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	—
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	6×
#IVsus2	F2	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · G · C	14×
#IV	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	7×
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	15×
VI	G/B	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	3×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	—
vii7	Am7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G	6×
vii7	Am7/E	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E · G	4×
vii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	3×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 9 different chords appear 76 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C, F are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

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 C, land on C, E, G — 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 F2, land on F, G, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On C, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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 down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are C, G, F2, F; read them as bVII–IV–bIIIsus2–bIII in D or bII–VI–#IVsus2–#IV in Bm. C briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in D.

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.