Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords E, A, F#m, D, B, Gb, Abm, E/G# … Easy key G (capo 2)

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Capo 0

If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go, but I  know 
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way

    A  F#m  D      E       A    F#m  D
And I         will always love you
       E            A
I will always love you

 D       A/C#        Bm7  A
You, my darling, you
   
Bittersweet memories
E/G#         F#m      E           D  E
     That is all I'm taking with me
    A
So goodbye, please don't cry
E/G#     F#m           E                 Dmaj7   E
     We both know I'm not what you, you need

    A  F#m  D      E       A    F#m  D
And I         will always love you
       E            A
I will always love you

A  E  A  F#m
A  D  E

A
I hope life treats you kind
E/G#   F#m      E                      D  E
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of
            A 
And I wish you joy and happiness
E/G#               F#m     E        D7  E
     But above all this I wish you love

    B  Abm  E      Gb      B    Abm  E
And I         will always love you
       Gb           B
I will always love you
Abm        E  Gb       B
    I will always love you
Abm        E  Gb       B
    I will always love you
Abm        E  Gb       B
    I will always love you
Emaj7         Gb
I,    I will always lo   ve you
Emaj7                B/D#
      You, darling I love you. 
          E/F#         Gb          B
Ooh I'll always, I'll always love you

End of song Play again?

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on A and ends on B. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the A major side because it opens on A and A is heard 14 times against 9 for F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from F# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to A or to F#m; 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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	13×
I	A/C#	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	1×
ii7	Bm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F# · A	1×
V/V	B	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Esecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	7×
V/V	B/D#	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Esecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	1×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
V/vi	C#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to F#msecondary dominant	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	8×
IVmaj7	Dmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A · C#	1×
IV7	D7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A · C	1×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	19×
V	E/G#	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	4×
V	E/F#	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	1×
Vmaj7	Emaj7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G# · B · D#	2×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	9×
V/ii	Gb	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	7×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—
vii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	5×

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	9×
V/iv	Gb	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	7×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
ii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	5×
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	13×
III	A/C#	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	1×
iv7	Bm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F# · A	1×
IV	B	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F#	7×
IV	B/D#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F#	1×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	8×
VImaj7	Dmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A · C#	1×
VI7	D7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A · C	1×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	19×
VII	E/G#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	4×
VII	E/F#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	1×
V/III	Emaj7	Secondary dominant V/III — leads to Asecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D#	2×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 15 different chords appear 80 times in total; 9 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. B, Gb, Emaj7, B/D# act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×9
D E AIV → VIV → V F#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×7
E/G# F#m AV → videceptive cadence F#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×4
D A/C# AIV → Iplagal cadence F#mVI → III ×1
Dmaj7 E AIVmaj7 → VIV → V F#mVImaj7 → VIIVI → VII ×1
D7 E AIV7 → VIV → V F#mVI7 → VIIVI → VII ×1

The move to watch is E → A, heard 9 times. From the A side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the F#m side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

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 A major shapes

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
3 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

Starting on A, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. E, A, F#m, D carry the song: V–I–vi–IV relative to A, VII–III–i–VI relative to F#m. B adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to E. Keep an ear on E → A (V → I in A, VII → III in F#m): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is B; the ear comes to rest in A.

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.