Adele - Take It All - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Am, C, D, Em/B, Am7/G, Em, Fmaj7, D/F# … Difficulty already in its easiest key

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C          Em/B    Am       Am7/G
Didn't I give it all?   Tried my best
            D/F#          C/E              D       Cadd9
Gave you everything I had,   everything and no less
         C          Em/B              Am    Am7/G
Didn't I do it right?   Didn't let you down
            D/F#        C/E           D      Cadd9
Maybe you got too use to   having me around
                  C        Em/B          Am     Am7/G
Still how can you walk away    from all my tears
                D/F#      C/E                 D     Cadd9
It's gonna be an empty road   without me right here

              C              Em/B        Am         Am7/G
But go on and take it , take it all with you
F              G          Abdim      Am
  Don't look back at this crumbling fool
     D    Em Fmaj7      C
Just take it all with my love
D    Em Fmaj7      C
Take it all with my love

      C            Em/B     Am         Am7/G
Maybe I should leave    to help you see
             D/F#           C/E                        D     Cadd9
Nothing gets better than this, and this is everything we need
         C    Em/B          Am   Am7/G
So is it over,    is this really
                 D/F#    C/E                          D
You've given up so easily,   I thought you loved me more than this

   Cadd9             C              Em/B        Am         Am7/G
But go on, go on and take it , take it all with you
F              G          Abdim      Am
  Don't look back at this crumbling fool
     D    Em Fmaj7      C
Just take it all with my love
D    Em Fmaj7      C
Take it all with my love

       Bb            Am
I will change if I must
          F                                C
Slow it down and bring it home, I will adjust
        E                  Am
Oh, if only, if only you knew
     D   Em Fmaj7   Am G      C    Em/B  Am  Am7/G  D/F#  C/E  D
That eve ry thing I do is for you

   Cadd9             C              Em/B        Am         Am7/G
But go on, go on and take it , take it all with you
F              G          Abdim      Am
  Don't look back at this crumbling fool
     C              Em/B        Am         Am7/G
Just take it , take it all with you
F              G          Abdim      Am
  Don't look back at this crumbling fool
     D    Em Fmaj7       C
Just take it all with my love
D    Em Fmaj7        Am
Take it all with my love
D    Em Fmaj7        C
Take it all with my love.

End of song Play again?

Adele - Take It All Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Take It All: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on C. 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)
#7 = G# (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 C major side because it both starts and finishes on C, C is heard 29 times against 28 for Am and the major V chord points straight at 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	17×
I	C/E	Tonic — home	C · E · G	6×
I	Cadd9	Tonic — home	C · E · G · D	6×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
V/V	D	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	14×
V/V	D/F#	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A	6×
iii	Em/B	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	10×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	8×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	1×
IVmaj7	Fmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C · E	8×
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	5×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	5×
vii°/vi	Abdim	Secondary leading-tone chord vii°/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	Ab · Cb · D	4×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	18×
vi7	Am7/G	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E · G	10×
bVII	Bb	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Bb · D · F	1×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	18×
i7	Am7/G	Tonic — home	A · C · E · G	10×
bII	Bb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	1×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	17×
III	C/E	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	6×
III	Cadd9	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G · D	6×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
IV	D	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	14×
IV	D/F#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A	6×
v	Em/B	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	10×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	8×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	1×
VImaj7	Fmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C · E	8×
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	5×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	5×
#vii°	Abdim	Leading-tone chord (harmonic minor)harmonic minor	Ab · Cb · D	4×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 15 different chords appear 119 times in total; 10 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same Abdim / E is vii°/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. D, D/F# act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Bb is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Em/B Am Ciii → vi Amv → inatural-minor cadence ×10
Fmaj7 C CIVmaj7 → Iplagal cadence AmVImaj7 → III ×6
F G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×4
Fmaj7 Am CIVmaj7 → vi AmVImaj7 → iVI → i ×2
E Am CV/vi → vi AmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×1
G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×1

The move to watch is Em/B → Am, heard 10 times. From the C side it reads iii → vi; from the Am side it is v → i (natural-minor cadence: gentle, modal arrival). 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 Am, land on A, C, E — 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.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E comes, swap the scale's G for G#: 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 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

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. Am, C, D, Em/B carry the song: vi–I–V/V–iii relative to C, i–III–IV–v relative to Am. Abdim is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (vii°/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (#vii°) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Em/B → Am (iii → vi in C, v → i in Am): natural-minor cadence — gentle, modal arrival. It closes on C, 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.