Adele - I Found a Boy - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords E, D, A, Gbm, Db, Bm, B7, F … Easy key G (capo 2)

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Capo 0

A                     E
I thought I told you, he'd be home soon
               A                           E
Couldn't help myself, you're too good to be true.
                  A                          E
I fall short each time, every time he ain't here,
                           A                 E
You and your charm creep closer, closer in here.
                     Gbm                       D
Like a fool for fire I fall, with my pride and all.
                      B7
Like a bomb before explosion,
                 E
Ticking by your call.
            A                         E
You're the wiser one, disguised from greed,
               Gbm                      D        E
And I'm just a child who belongs on her knees.

    D                 Db
But I found a boy who I love more,
     Gbm
Than I ever did you before,
    D                 Db
So stand beside the river I cried,
    Gbm           D        Bm
And let yourself down.
                                           A         E
Look how you want me now that I don't need you.
          A                                  E
So, you thought that I would crumble to my knees
               Gbm                          D
At the first sight of you, crawling back to me
    E                 Gbm
To whisper 'will you leave your man?'
                       D                    E            A
Cause you sweared that this time you can stand by me.
                 E
I won't stand by you.

    D                 Db
But I found a boy who I love more,
     Gbm
Than I ever did you before,
    D                     Db
So stand beside the river I cried,
    Gbm            D        Bm
And let yourself down.
                                            F
Look how you want me now that I don't need you.
                            Dm6
I ain't yours for no taking,
                    E
You must be mistaken
                                       A
I could never look in your eyes, and settle for wrong

And ignore the right

    D                   Db
But I found a boy who loves me more,
     Gbm
Than you ever did before,
      D                       Db
So stand beside the river you'll cry,
    Gbm           D        Bm
And let yourself down.
              A               E             A
Look how you want me now that I don't need you.

End of song Play again?

Adele - I Found a Boy Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – I Found a Boy: key and chord analysis

The song opens on A and ends on A. 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 A major side because it both starts and finishes on A, A is heard 11 times against 10 for F#m and the major V chord points straight at F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from F# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	11×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	3×
V7/V	B7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Esecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A	1×
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	6×
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	13×
iv6	Dm6	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	D · F · A · B	1×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	14×
bVI	F	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	1×
vi	Gbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Gb · A · Db	10×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Gbm	Tonic — home	Gb · A · Db	10×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	11×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	3×
IV7	B7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F# · A	1×
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	6×
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	13×
vi6	Dm6	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A · B	1×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	14×
#VII	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	1×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 9 different chords appear 60 times in total; 5 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. B7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. F, Dm6 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×8
Db Gbm AV/vi → vi F#mV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×6
E Gbm AV → videceptive cadence F#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×4
D E AIV → VIV → V F#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×3
B7 E AV7/V → Vsecondary resolution F#mIV7 → VII ×1

The move to watch is E → A, heard 8 times. From the A side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the F#m side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 E, land on E, G#, B — 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.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — 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 F, follow the chord's notes (F · A · C) 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

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is A; the ear learns where home is within a second. E, D, A, Gbm carry the song: V–IV–I–vi relative to A, VII–VI–III–i relative to F#m. Db is the interesting twist: in A it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in F#m it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on E → A (V → I in A, VII → III in F#m): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. Ending on A, the song seals A 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.