Sam Smith - Forgive Myself - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords C, Am, F, G, Em, Am/G Easy key Bb (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C  Em  Am  F
 
        C
Do you think of me
            Em
When you're in California alone
       Am                                      F
It's a lonely place at the best of times, Lord knows
         C
I won't lie to you
   Em
I could have given you more
    Am
But life got fast
                          F
Good things don't last anymore
 
C
Now and then you cross my mind
   Em
It takes me back to a sweeter time
      Am       Am/G
But I let it go
   F
I let you go
 
            C
'Til I wake up in the morning, you're all that I see
     G
You run through my head, in and out of my dreams
Am
Breathe for a minute, try and focus on me
       F
But I can't think of anyone else
        C
Now my heart is broken and I'm crying on the floor
     G
And every part of me hopes you walk through the door
           Am
But you'rе not here, baby
                        F
And I can't love anyonе else
     G            C
'Til I forgive myself
 
         C
Did you lie to me
          Em
When you said I was all that you need
            Am                                           F
Guess we'll never know all the beautiful things we could be
 
C
Now and then you cross my mind
   Em
It takes me back to a sweeter time
      Am       Am/G
But I let it go
   F
I let you go
 
            C
'Til I wake up in the morning, you're all that I see
     G
You run through my head, in and out of my dreams
Am
Breathe for a minute, try and focus on me
       F
But I can't think of anyone else
        C
Now my heart is broken and I'm crying on the floor
     G
And every part of me hopes you walk through the door
           Am
But you'rе not here, baby
                        F
And I can't love anyonе else
     G            C     Em
'Til I forgive myself, ooh
                 Am     F
'Til I forgive myself, ooh

            C
'Til I wake up in the morning, you're all that I see
     G
You run through my head, in and out of my dreams
Am
Breathe for a minute, try and focus on me
       F
But I can't think of anyone else
        C
Now my heart is broken and I'm crying on the floor
     G
And every part of me hopes you walk through the door
           Am
But you'rе not here, baby
                        F
And I can't love anyonе else
     G            C
'Til I forgive myself

End of song Play again?

Sam Smith - Forgive Myself Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sam Smith – Forgive Myself: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on C. 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	—
bii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	7×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
II	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	13×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	9×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	—
#iv	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	13×
#iv	Am/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	2×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	—
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	—
V/ii	C	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	15×
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	—
V/iv	C	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	15×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	—
#iii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	7×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
IV	F	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	F · A · C	13×
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	9×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	—
#vi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	13×
#vi	Am/G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	2×
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). 6 different chords appear 59 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. C 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

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 C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — 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

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on C, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is C, Am, F, G — V/ii–#iv–II–V/vi from the Eb side, V/iv–#vi–IV–V from the Cm side. C is the interesting twist: in Eb it is a chromatic chord (V/ii), while in Cm it becomes the dominant (V/iv) that makes the minor side sound so determined. The final chord is C; 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.