Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords C, G, D, Em, Bm, G7, Cm, Eb … Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G  C  Em  D

G                  C
 Santa tell me if you're really there
        Em
 Don't make me fall in love again
     D                     G
 If he won't be here next year
                   C
 Santa tell me if he really cares
       Em                         D                     G
 Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

                         Bm
 Feeling Christmas all around
                            G7
 And I'm trying to play it cool
                          C            Cm                    G
 But it's hard to focus when I see him walking 'cross the room
                           Bm
 Let it snow, is blasting now
                            G7
 But I won't get it in the mood
                     C          Cm                  G
 I'm avoiding every mistletoe until I know it's true love
           Bm     C
 That he thinks of
 Bm           C     Em      D
 So next Christmas I'm not all alone boy

G                  C
 Santa tell me if you're really there
        Em
 Don't make me fall in love again
     D                     G
 If he won't be here next year
                   C
 Santa tell me if he really cares
       Em                         D                     G
 Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

                             Bm
 I've been down this road before
                            G7
 Fell in love on Christmas night
                       C          Cm                 G
 But I knew you say I woke up and you wasn't by my side
                        Bm
 Now I need someone to hold
                    G7
 Be my fire in the cold
                            C                  Cm            G
 But it's hard to tell if this is just a fling or if it's true love
Bm        C     Bm
 That he thinks of
C           Bm     C        D
 So next Christmas I'm not all alone boy

G                  C
 Santa tell me if you're really there
        Em
 Don't make me fall in love again
     D                     G
 If he won't be here next year
                   C
 Santa tell me if he really cares
       Em                         D                     Em
 Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

D       C                      D     Em
 Oh I wanna have him beside me like ooh
D        C               D     Em
 On the 25th by the fireplace ooh
Eb      G/D                 Gbm/C#  C
 But I don't want no broken heart
                        D
 This year I got to be smart

     G  C
 Oh baby
              Em                   D
 If he won't be, if he won't be here

G                  C
 Santa tell me if you're really there
        Em
 Don't make me fall in love again
     D                     G
 If he won't be here next year
                   C
 Santa tell me if he really cares
       Em                         D                     G
 Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

G                  C
 Santa tell me if you're really there
        Em
 Don't make me fall in love again
     D                     G
 If he won't be here next year
                   C
 Santa tell me if he really cares
       Em                         D                     G
 Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

End of song Play again?

Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ariana Grande – Santa Tell Me: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the G major side because it both starts and finishes on G and G is heard 25 times against 16 for Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; 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 G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	20×
I	G/D	Tonic — home	G · B · D	1×
V7/IV	G7	Secondary dominant V/IV — leads to Csecondary dominant	G · B · D · F	4×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	9×
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	24×
iv	Cm	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · Eb · G	4×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	19×
bVI	Eb	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Eb · G · Bb	1×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	16×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—
vii	Gbm/C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	1×

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	16×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
ii	Gbm/C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Gb · A · Db	1×
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	20×
III	G/D	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	1×
V7/VI	G7	Secondary dominant V/VI — leads to Csecondary dominant	G · B · D · F	4×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	9×
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	24×
vi	Cm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · Eb · G	4×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	19×
#VII	Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	1×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 10 different chords appear 99 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Cm, Eb are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×14
C Em GIV → vi EmVI → iVI → i ×13
Cm G Giv → Iminor plagal Emvi → III ×4
G7 C GV7/IV → IVsecondary resolution EmV7/VI → VI ×4
C D GIV → VIV → V EmVI → VIIVI → VII ×4
D Em GV → videceptive cadence EmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3

The move to watch is D → G, heard 14 times. From the G side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Em side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over C, land on C, E, G — 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 D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Cm, follow the chord's notes (C · Eb · G) 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 G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + 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 G; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are C, G, D, Em; read them as IV–I–V–vi in G or VI–III–VII–i in Em. G7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/IV — leads to C. Keep an ear on D → G (V → I in G, VII → III in Em): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is G; the ear comes to rest in G.

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.