Adele - Don't You Remember - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords Ab, Eb, Bb, Cm, Eb/G, Fm, F, G … Easy key C#

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Capo 0

Eb             Eb/D  Ab
When will I see you again
                  Cm             Eb              Ab
You left with no goodbye, not a single word was said
    Eb         Eb/G     Ab
No final kiss to seal any sins
           Cm          Eb          Ab
I had no idea of the state we were in

                 Bb
I know I have a fickle heart and bitterness
       Cm                   G               Bb
And a wandering eye, and a heaviness in my head

               Eb   Eb/G  Ab           Fm   Bb  Eb
But don't you remember,     don't you remember
     Ab               Eb  Eb/G  Ab
The reason you loved me      before
                  Fm  Bb      Eb  Ab
Baby please remember me once more

  Eb                               Ab
When was the last time you thought of me
                 Cm        Eb               Ab
Or have you completely erased me from your memories
                Eb          Eb/G           Ab
Cause I often think about where I went wrong
            Cm   Eb         Ab
The more I do, the less I know

                 Bb
I know I have a fickle heart and bitterness
       Cm                   G               Bb
And a wandering eye, and a heaviness in my head

               Eb   Eb/G  Ab           Fm   Bb  Eb
But don't you remember,     don't you remember
     Ab               Eb  Eb/G  Ab
The reason you loved me    before
                  Fm  Bb      Ab
Baby please remember me once more
Ab
Ohhhh

   B                     Gb
I gave you the space so you could breathe
           Db                        Ab
I kept my distance so you would be free
   B                      Ebm
I hope that you find the missing piece
     Fm               Bb
To bring you back to me

               F    F/A  Bb        Gm   C   F
Why don't you remember, don't you remember
     Bb           F   F/A  Bb
The reason you loved me   before
                  Gm  C       Bb
Baby please remember me once more
  F                 Bb
When will I see you again

End of song Play again?

Adele - Don't You Remember Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Don't You Remember: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Eb and ends on Bb. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (natural-minor colour)
#7 = E# (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 F# minor side because the major V chord points straight at F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from A 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 A or to F#m; 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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	—
bII	Bb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	14×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
II	B	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D# · F#	2×
biii	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	6×
bIII	C	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	2×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
V/vi	Db	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Gbmsecondary dominant	Db · F · Ab	1×
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
#IV	Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	15×
#IV	Eb/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	6×
#IV	Eb/D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	1×
#iv	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	1×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
bvi	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	5×
bVI	F	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	4×
bVI	F/A	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	2×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
V/ii	Gb	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	1×
bVII	G	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	2×
bvii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	2×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—
V/iii	Ab	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb	18×

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
V/iv	Gb	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	1×
bII	G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	2×
bii	Gm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D	2×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
V/v	Ab	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb	18×
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	—
#III	Bb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · D · F	14×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
IV	B	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F#	2×
#iv	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	6×
#IV	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	2×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	Db	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Db · F · Ab	1×
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
#VI	Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	15×
#VI	Eb/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	6×
#VI	Eb/D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	1×
#vi	Ebm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb	1×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—
#vii	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	5×
#VII	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	4×
#VII	F/A	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	2×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 16 different chords appear 82 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of F#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from A, the same Db is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for F#m. Ab, Gb act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Bb, F, G, F/A, C 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

A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
Over Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Eb, land on Eb, G, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bb, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When Db comes, swap the scale's E for E#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Bb, follow the chord's notes (Bb · D · F) 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 A major shapes

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones up
3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Eb; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Ab, Eb, Bb, Cm — V/iii–#IV–bII–biii from the A side, V/v–#VI–#III–#iv from the F#m side. Ab is the interesting twist: in A it is a chromatic chord (V/iii), while in F#m it becomes the dominant (V/v) that makes the minor side sound so determined. The final chord is Bb; the ear comes to rest in A.

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.