Sam Smith - Dancing With a Stranger (feat. Normani) - Chord

Key Ab major – F minor Chords C, D, Em, G Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

C  D  Em  G

                   C
I don't want to be alone tonight
            D                  Em      G
It's pretty clear that I'm not over you
                               C           
I'm still thinking 'bout the things you do
           D          Em                            G
So I don't want to be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight

         C            
Can you light the fire
           D            Em          G
I need somebody who can take control
                      C         
I know exactly what I need to do
               D          Em                            G
'Cause I don't want to be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight

 C                      
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger
 C                      
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G                      C
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger
                D    Em  G
Dancing with a stranger

                     C        
I wasn't even going out tonight
          D                Em         G
But boy I need to get you off my mind
                       C         
I know exactly what I have to do
        D           Em                            G
I don't want to be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight

 C                      
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger
 C                      
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G                      C
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger
                D   Em
Dancing with a stranger
G                      C
Dancing with a stranger
         D       Em  G
Dancing, yeah, uuh

 C                      
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger
C                       
Look what you made me do
             D
I'm with somebody new
Em                   G                     
Ooh, baby, baby I'm dancing with a stranger

C                           D
I'm dancing, I'm dancing, uh
 Em

 G
Dancing with a stranger

C                       
I'm dancing, I'm dancing
                D      Em
Dancing with a stranger

 G
Dancing with a stranger

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Dancing With a Stranger (feat. Normani) Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Dancing With a Stranger (feat. Normani): key and chord analysis

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

Major view

Ab major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Db (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Eb (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 F minor side because the major V chord points straight at Fm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Ab 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 Ab or to Fm; 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 Ab major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Ab	Tonic — home	Ab · C · Eb	—
ii	Bbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Bb · Db · F	—
iii	Cm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C · Eb · G	—
III	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	18×
IV	Db	Subdominant — moves away from home	Db · F · Ab	—
#IV	D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A	18×
V	Eb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Eb · G · Bb	—
bvi	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	18×
vi	Fm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F · Ab · C	—
vii°	Gdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G · Bb · Db	—
V/iii	G	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	18×

Seen from F minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Fm	Tonic — home	F · Ab · C	—
ii°	Gdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · Db	—
V/v	G	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	18×
III	Ab	Relative major — the bright side	Ab · C · Eb	—
iv	Bbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · Db · F	—
v	Cm	Minor dominant — soft pull	C · Eb · G	—
V	C	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C · E · G	18×
VI	Db	Submediant — warm colour	Db · F · Ab	—
#VI	D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A	18×
VII	Eb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Eb · G · Bb	—
#vii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	18×

Analysis

The key pair is Ab major and its relative F minor (4 flats). 4 different chords appear 72 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Fm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull. G acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

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

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

Capo 1 + G shapes
Capo 4 + E shapes
Capo 6 + D shapes

With F minor shapes

Capo 1 + Em shapes
Capo 3 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are C, D, Em, G; read them as III–#IV–bvi–V/iii in Ab or V–#VI–#vii–V/v in Fm. C is the interesting twist: in Ab it is a chromatic chord (III), while in Fm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Ending on G, the song seals Ab 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.

Sam Smith - Dancing With a Stranger (feat. Normani) 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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