Taylor Swift - Betty - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords G, Am, F, C, C/B, G4, A, D … Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C  C/B  Am  G4  F  G4

C        C/B             Am
  Betty, I won’t make assumptions
        G4                   F
About why you switched your homeroom
                           G4
But I think it’s cause of me
C        C/B             Am
  Betty, one time I was riding
        G4               F
On my skateboard when I passed your house
                       G4
It’s like I couldn’t breathe

C                C/B          Am
  You heard the rumors from Inez
             G4               F
You can’t believe a word she says most times
                       G4
But this time it was true
     Am           G    C     F
The worst thing that I ever did
      Am    G      F  G
Was what I did to you

                C                C/B
But if I just showed up at your party
           Am                 G
Would you have me? Would you want me
           F             Am
Would you tell me to go fuck myself
    G
Or lead me to the garden
        C                 C/B
In the garden would you trust me
      Am              G              F
If I told you it was just a summer thing
          Am           G
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
              C
But I know I miss you

C        C/B             Am
  Betty, I know where it all went wrong
      G                  F
Your favorite song was playing
                          G
From the far side of the gym
C        C/B           Am
  I was nowhere to be found
             G
I hate the crowds you know that
F                            G
  Plus I saw you dance with him

C                C/B          Am
  You heard the rumors from Inez
             G4               F
You can’t believe a word she says most times
                       G4
But this time it was true
     Am           G    C     F
The worst thing that I ever did
      Am    G      F  G
Was what I did to you

                C                C/B
But if I just showed up at your party
           Am                 G
Would you have me? Would you want me
           F             Am
Would you tell me to go fuck myself
    G
Or lead me to the garden
        C                 C/B
In the garden would you trust me
      Am              G              F
If I told you it was just a summer thing
          Am           G
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
              C
But I know I miss you

Am                         G
   I was walking home on broken cobblestones
              F
Just thinking of you when she pulled up
        G
Like a figment of my worst intentions
  Am                            G
She said, "James get in let’s drive." Those days
             F
Turned into nights, slept next to her
    G                             C
But   I dreamt of you all summer long

C        C/B               Am
  Betty, I’m here on your doorstep
        G4                F
And I planned it out for weeks now
                         G4
But it’s finally sinking in
C         C/B              Am
  Betty, right now is the last time
        G4              F
I can dream about what happens when
                  G4
You see my face again
    Am     G      C       F
The only thing I wanna do
    Am     G      F  G
Is make it up to you

       C                C/B  Am G  F  Em  G
So I showed up at your party
          C                C/B 
Yeah, I showed up at your party

          D                D/C#
Yeah, I showed up at your party
          Bm               A
Will you have me will you love me
          G              Gbm
Will you kiss me on the porch
            Em                A
In front of all your stupid friends
        D                D/C#
If you kiss me, will it be
              Bm
Just like I dreamed it
         A                 G
Will it patch your broken wings
          Gbm          Em             A
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
              D       A  G
But I know I miss you

G2              D         A  G
   Standing in your cardigan
G2             D       A   G
   Kissing in my car again

Stopped at a streetlight
             D       D/F#  G
You know, I miss you

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Betty Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Betty: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on G. 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 C major side because it opens on C and C is heard 36 times against 26 for Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from A minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	21×
I	C/B	Tonic — home	C · E · G	15×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
V/V	D	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	6×
V/V	D/C#	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	2×
V/V	D/F#	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	1×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	3×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	22×
#iv	Gbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	2×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	33×
V	G4	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	14×
Vsus2	G2	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · A · D	2×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	26×
V/ii	A	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	7×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—
vii	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	2×

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	26×
V/iv	A	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	7×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
ii	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	2×
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	21×
III	C/B	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	15×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
IV	D	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	6×
IV	D/C#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	2×
IV	D/F#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	1×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	3×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	22×
#vi	Gbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	2×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	33×
VII	G4	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	14×
VIIsus2	G2	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · A · D	2×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 14 different chords appear 156 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. A, D, D/C#, D/F# act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×14
F G4 CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×7
F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×7
F G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×7
G4 C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×4
G4 Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3

The move to watch is G → C, heard 14 times. From the C side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Am side it is VII → III. 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 G, land on G, B, D — 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 first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is G, Am, F, C — V–vi–IV–I from the C side, VII–i–VI–III from the Am side. A adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dm. Keep an ear on G → C (V → I in C, VII → III in Am): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. It closes on G, letting the C 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.