Miley Cyrus - Jolene - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Am, G, C Difficulty already in its easiest key

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

Am

Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                      Am
I'm begging you, please don't take my man
Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                     Am
Please don't take him even though you can

Am             C
Your beauty is beyond compare
G                     Am
With flaming locks of auburn hair
G                                 Am
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green

Am                   C
Your smile is like a breath of spring
G                       Am
Your skin is soft like summer rain
G                                 Am
And I cannot compete with you, jolene

Am                  C
And I could easily understand
G                    Am
How you could easily take my man
        G                               Am
But you don't know what he means to me, jolene

       Am              C
And he talks about you in his sleep
        G           Am
There's nothing I can do to keep
     G                                  Am
From crying, when he calls your name, jolene  Jolene

Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                      Am
I'm begging you, please don't take my man
Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                     Am
Please don't take him even though you can

Am              C
Had to have this talk with you
  G          Am
My happiness depends on you
G                          Am
Whatever you decide to do, jolene

Am                      C
And you could have your choice of men
G                 Am
But I could never love again
   G                          Am
Cos he's the only one for me, jolene  Jolene

Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                      Am
I'm begging you, please don't take my man
Am      C       G       Am
Jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene
G                                     Am
Please don't take him even though you can
 Am      G     Am
Jolene, Jolene

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - Jolene Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – Jolene: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on Am. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Ab (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Ab (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Bb (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B (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 minor side because the major V chord points straight at Cm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb 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 Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	—
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	25×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	—
#iv	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	39×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	—
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	—
VI	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	12×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	—
I	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	12×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	—
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	—
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	25×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	—
#vi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	39×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	—

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 3 different chords appear 76 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Cm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Eb, the same G is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Cm. Am, C step outside the scale as colour chords.

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

Eb major pentatonic and C minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Eb – F – G – Bb – C): start from Eb for a brighter phrase, from C for a bluesier one.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — 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 C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When G comes, swap the scale's Bb for B: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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 Eb major shapes

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Am; the ear learns where home is within a second. Am, G, C carry the song: #iv–V/vi–VI relative to Eb, #vi–V–I relative to Cm. G is the interesting twist: in Eb it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Cm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. The final chord is Am; the ear comes to rest in Eb.

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.