Major view
D major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = C# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = G (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Sabrina Carpenter - Things I Wish You Said - Chord
Key D major – B minor Chords D, G, A, Bm, Gm, E, E7 Easy key G (capo 7)
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Key: D | Bm
Capo: 0
D
D Bm
"Baby, sorry I left you in the dark"
G
"I always reach for your leg
D
Over there on your side of the car"
D Bm
"Baby, everything reminds me of you"
G
"Nobody gets my jokes"
D
"Everyone here thinks I'm fuckin' rude"
G D A
"When I saw you cry, I didn't handle it well"
G D A
"Without you here, I don't know what to do with myself"
G Gm Bm A E
I think about these things at night before I fall asleep
G D
Things I wish you said to me
D Bm
Things like, "Darlin', I hope you know it scared me to death
G D
The night that your sister said that you got in an accident"
D Bm
"And, God, I, I'm watchin' everything that you do"
G D A
"I can't get your songs out of my head or your hair out of my room"
G D A
"I saw you met somebody and I'm jealous as hell
G D A
That I can't even stomach lovin' somebody else"
G Gm Bm A E7
I think about these things at night before I fall asleep
G D
Things I wish you said to me
Bm G
Ooh ooh
D A
Ooh ooh, ah
G D A
I'm sorry that I pulled the "it's not you, it's me"
G D A
One day, I'll make sure you get a real apology
G Gm Bm A E
I waste my time, I waste my life on idiotic things
G
Like things you never said
Gm Gm
Things you'll never say to me
End of song Play again?
Sabrina Carpenter - Things I Wish You Said Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Sabrina Carpenter – Things I Wish You Said: key and chord analysis
The song opens on D and ends on Gm. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
B minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = G (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = A (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D major side because it opens on D and D is heard 18 times against 8 for Bm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from B minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to D or to Bm; 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 | D | Tonic — home | D · F# · A | 18× |
| ii | Em | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · B | — |
| V/V | E | Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant | E · G# · B | 2× |
| V7/V | E7 | Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant | E · G# · B · D | 1× |
| iii | F#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | F# · A · C# | — |
| V/vi | F# | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant | F# · A# · C# | — |
| IV | G | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · B · D | 17× |
| iv | Gm | Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | G · Bb · D | 5× |
| V | A | Dominant — strongest pull home | A · C# · E | 11× |
| vi | Bm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | B · D · F# | 8× |
| vii° | C#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | C# · E · G | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | Tonic — home | B · D · F# | 8× |
| ii° | C#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C# · E · G | — |
| III | D | Relative major — the bright side | D · F# · A | 18× |
| iv | Em | Subdominant — moves away from home | E · G · B | — |
| IV | E | Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour | E · G# · B | 2× |
| IV7 | E7 | Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour | E · G# · B · D | 1× |
| v | F#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | F# · A · C# | — |
| V | F# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | F# · A# · C# | — |
| VI | G | Submediant — warm colour | G · B · D | 17× |
| vi | Gm | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G · Bb · D | 5× |
| VII | A | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | A · C# · E | 11× |
Analysis
The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 62 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E, E7 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Gm is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
- G D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×13
The move to watch is G → D, heard 13 times. From the D side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Bm side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- D major pentatonic and B minor pentatonic are the same five notes (D – E – F# – A – B): start from D for a brighter phrase, from B for a bluesier one.
- Over D, land on D, F#, A — 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.
- Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On Gm, follow the chord's notes (G · Bb · 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 D major shapes
- No capo — open D shapes
- Capo 2 + C shapes
- Capo 5 + A shapes
With B minor shapes
- Capo 2 + Am shapes
- Capo 7 + Em shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
- 5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
The song's harmonic story
Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are D, G, A, Bm; read them as I–IV–V–vi in D or III–VI–VII–i in Bm. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to A. Keep an ear on G → D (IV → I in D, VI → III in Bm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is Gm; the ear comes to rest in D.
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 - Things I Wish You Said 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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