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)
Sabrina Carpenter - Decode - Chord
Key A major – F# minor Chords D, Em, G Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
Capo: 0
Em G
You're good at the falling, not the staying there
D
You're good at the giving too much then getting scared
Em G
You're good at impersonating someone who cares
D
And you had me for a minute there
Em G
But now I wonder why
D Em
I let your confusion keep me up at night
G
I'm so tired
D
Re read every single undertone, and I
Em
Overanalyzed it
G
Front, back and beside it
D
Where else can we go
D
There's nothing left here to decode
Em
Done looking for signs in
The gaps and the silence
D
It's just gettin' old
D Em
There's nothing left here to decode
G D
Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm mm
Em G
There's a weight off my shoulders now that I don't chase you
D
Being myself, did that emasculate you
Em G
Learnin' from you that I can walk away, too
D
And you had me for a minute, too
Em G
But now I wonder why
D Em
I let your indecision keep me up at night
G
I'm so tired
D
Unpacked every single word you wrote, and I
Em
Overanalyzed it
G
Front, back and beside it
D
Where else can we go
D
There's nothing left here to decode
Em
Done looking for signs in
The gaps and the silence
D
It's just gettin' old
D Em
There's nothing left here to decode
G D
Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm mm
D Em
There's nothing left here to decode
G D
Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm mm
Em G
But now I wonder why
D Em
I let your confusion keep me up at night
G
I'm so tired
D
Re read every single undertone, and I
Em
Overanalyzed it
G
Front, back and beside it
D
Where else can we go
D
There's nothing left here to decode
Em
Done looking for signs in
The gaps and the silence
D
It's just gettin' old
D Em
There's nothing left here to decode
There's nothing
G D
Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm mm
There's nothing, there's nothing
D Em
There's nothing left here to decode
There's nothing
G D
Oh oh, oh oh, mm mm, mm mm
There's nothing, there's nothing
D
There's nothing left here to decode
D
I'm gon' make a video to our future selves
Em G D
Haha
End of song Play again?
Sabrina Carpenter - Decode Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Sabrina Carpenter – Decode: key and chord analysis
The song opens on Em and ends on D. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
F# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = E (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between A major and F# minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.
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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | A | Tonic — home | A · C# · E | — |
| ii | Bm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F# | — |
| iii | C#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | C# · E · G# | — |
| III | C# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C# · E# · G# | — |
| IV | D | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F# · A | 32× |
| V | E | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B | — |
| v | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 22× |
| vi | F#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | F# · A · C# | — |
| bVII | G | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | G · B · D | 19× |
| vii° | G#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | G# · B · D | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | Tonic — home | F# · A · C# | — |
| bII | G | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | G · B · D | 19× |
| ii° | G#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G# · B · D | — |
| III | A | Relative major — the bright side | A · C# · E | — |
| iv | Bm | Subdominant — moves away from home | B · D · F# | — |
| v | C#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | C# · E · G# | — |
| V | C# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | C# · E# · G# | — |
| VI | D | Submediant — warm colour | D · F# · A | 32× |
| VII | E | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B | — |
| vii | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 22× |
Analysis
The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 3 different chords appear 73 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G is 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 D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Em, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
The opening Em lays a solid floor for everything that follows. D, Em, G carry the song: IV–v–bVII relative to A, VI–vii–bII relative to F#m. G briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Ending on D, 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.
Sabrina Carpenter - Decode Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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