Adele - Rumour Has It - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords Dm, Gm, F, Bbmaj7, Am7, Am, C#5, Am7/E … Easy key C (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Ooh, Oh

  Dm
Bless your soul 

You've got your head in the clouds
            Gm
You made a fool out of you

And, boy, she's bringing you down
              Bbmaj7
She made your      heart melt
            Am
But you're cold to the core
     Gm
Now rumour has it she ain't got your love anymore

  Dm
Bless your soul
You've got your head in the clouds
            Gm
You made a fool out of me

And, boy, you're bringing me down
             Bbmaj7
You made my heart melt 
         Am7
Yet I'm cold to the core
     Gm
But rumour has it 

I'm the one you're leaving her for
           
Rumour has it, ooh  

Dm  C#5           F
  AAAAll of these words 
  Gm            Dm
Whispered in my ear
         C#5+
Tell a story that
   F      Gm
I cannot bear to hear
Dm               Am7
  Just 'cause I said 
          F  Am7/E      Dm
It don't meeean that I meant it
 G
People say crazy things
                                     
Just 'cause I said it
       E5
Don't mean that I meant it

Just 'cause you heard it

Rumour has it, ooh   

But rumour has it he's the one I'm leaving you for

End of song Play again?

Adele - Rumour Has It Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Rumour Has It: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dm and ends on E5. 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 D minor side because it opens on Dm and Dm is heard 6 times against 3 for F. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from F 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 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	3×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	6×
II	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	1×
iii7	Am7	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E · G	2×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	1×
iii7	Am7/E	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E · G	1×
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	2×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	—
bVI	C#5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · G#	1×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	6×
VII	E5	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · B	1×
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	6×
II	E5	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · B	1×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	3×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	6×
IV	G	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	G · B · D	1×
v7	Am7	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E · G	2×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	1×
v7	Am7/E	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E · G	1×
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	2×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	—
#VII	C#5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · G#	1×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 10 different chords appear 24 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C#5, G step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

Gm Dm Fii → vi Dmiv → iminor plagal ×4
Am7/E Dm Fiii7 → vi Dmv7 → inatural-minor cadence ×1

The move to watch is Gm → Dm, heard 4 times. From the Dm side it is iv → i (minor plagal: deep and melancholic); from the F side it reads ii → vi. 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 Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
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.

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

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The opening Dm lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Dm, Gm, F, Bbmaj7; read them as vi–ii–I–IVmaj7 in F or i–iv–III–VImaj7 in Dm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Gm → Dm (ii → vi in F, iv → i in Dm): minor plagal — deep and melancholic. Ending on E5, 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.