Whitney Houston - Run to You - Chord

Key Ab major – F minor Chords Fm7, Ab, Dbm6, Bbm7, Db9, Eb9, Cm7, Bb … Easy key G (capo 1)

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Capo 0

     Ab         Fm7
1. I know, that when you look at me,
             Bbm7    Dbm6
     there's so much that you just don't see,
           G#          Fm7                   A#m7                 D#9
     but if, you would only take the time, I know in my heart you'd find,
      Fm7                                Db9              Dbm6
    o..h, a girl who's scared sometimes, who isn't always strong
      Ab                              Bbm7       Eb9
    Can't you see the hurt in me? I feel so all alone

        Db9         Dbm6         Ab          Fm7   Fm
I wanna run to you, ooh, I wanna run to you, ooh,
          Bbm7                      Eb
won't you hold me in your arms, and keep me safe from harm.
        Db9         Dbm6          Ab           Fm7  Fm
I wanna run to you, ooh, but if I come to you, ooh,
   A#m7                      C#9     C#m6      G#    C#9   C#m6  G#
tell me,    will you stay or will you      run away.

         Ab       Fm7                     Bbm7    Dbm6
2. Each day, each day I play the role, of someone always in control,
           Ab           Fm7
    but at night I come home and turn the key,
            A#m7                 D#        E°
    there's nobody there, no one cares for me.
      Fm7                            Db                  Dbm6
    O..h, what's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams,
        Ab                            Db                    Bbm7  Eb
    without someone to share it with, tell me what does it mean
       
  Db9         Dbm6          Ab           Fm7  Fm
I wanna run to you, ooh, but if I come to you, ooh,
   Bbm7                      Db9     Dbm6      Fm7  Dbm6  Ab Fm7 Db9 Eb9
tell me,    will you stay or will you      run away.

Bbm7
I need you here
                   Cm7          Fm7
I need you here to wipe away my tears
        Bbm7
To kiss away my fears
       Cm7  Dm7      F      Bb/C
If you only knew how much I wanna 

Eb9           Ebm6
run to you 
        Bb           Gm7
I wanna run to you 
          Cm7
Won't you hold me in your arms 
    F9
And keep me safe from harm
        Eb9            Ebm6
I wanna run to you 
         Bb            Gm7
But if I come to you 
         Cm7              Eb      F9     Bb       Bb4  Bb
Tell me, will you stay or will you run away

End of song Play again?

Whitney Houston - Run to You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Whitney Houston – Run to You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Ab and ends on Bb. 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)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between Ab major and F minor because it opens on Ab and Fm is heard 15 times against 12 for Ab. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

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	9×
I	G#	Tonic — home	G# · B# · D#	3×
ii7	Bbm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Bb · Db · F · Ab	8×
ii7	A#m7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A# · C# · E# · G#	2×
V/V	Bb	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to D#secondary dominant	Bb · D · F	4×
V/V	Bb/C	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to D#secondary dominant	Bb · D · F	1×
V/V	Bb4	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to D#secondary dominant	Bb · D · F	1×
iii7	Cm7	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C · Eb · G · Bb	4×
V/vi	C	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	—
IV	Db	Subdominant — moves away from home	Db · F · Ab	2×
iv6	Dbm6	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Db · Fb · Ab · Bb	9×
IV7	Db9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
IV7	C#9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G# · B · D#	2×
iv6	C#m6	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C# · E · G# · A#	2×
#iv7	Dm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A · C	1×
V7	Eb9	Dominant — strongest pull home	Eb · G · Bb · Db · F	4×
V	Eb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Eb · G · Bb	3×
V7	D#9	Dominant — strongest pull home	D# · G · A# · C# · E#	1×
v6	Ebm6	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb · C	2×
vi7	Fm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F · Ab · C · Eb	12×
vi	Fm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F · Ab · C	3×
V7/ii	F9	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bbmsecondary dominant	F · A · C · Eb · G	2×
V/ii	F	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Bbmsecondary dominant	F · A · C	1×
vii°	Gdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G · Bb · Db	—
vii7	Gm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D · F	2×

Seen from F minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Fm7	Tonic — home	F · Ab · C · Eb	12×
i	Fm	Tonic — home	F · Ab · C	3×
V7/iv	F9	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Bbmsecondary dominant	F · A · C · Eb · G	2×
V/iv	F	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Bbmsecondary dominant	F · A · C	1×
ii°	Gdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · Db	—
ii7	Gm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · Bb · D · F	2×
III	Ab	Relative major — the bright side	Ab · C · Eb	9×
III	G#	Relative major — the bright side	G# · B# · D#	3×
iv7	Bbm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · Db · F · Ab	8×
iv7	A#m7	Subdominant — moves away from home	A# · C# · E# · G#	2×
IV	Bb	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Bb · D · F	4×
IV	Bb/C	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Bb · D · F	1×
IV	Bb4	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Bb · D · F	1×
v7	Cm7	Minor dominant — soft pull	C · Eb · G · Bb	4×
V	C	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C · E · G	—
VI	Db	Submediant — warm colour	Db · F · Ab	2×
vi6	Dbm6	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · Fb · Ab · Bb	9×
VI7	Db9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · F · Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
VI7	C#9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G# · B · D#	2×
vi6	C#m6	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E · G# · A#	2×
#vi7	Dm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F · A · C	1×
VII7	Eb9	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Eb · G · Bb · Db · F	4×
VII	Eb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Eb · G · Bb	3×
VII7	D#9	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D# · G · A# · C# · E#	1×
vii6	Ebm6	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · Gb · Bb · C	2×

Analysis

The key pair is Ab major and its relative F minor (4 flats). 23 different chords appear 84 times in total; 11 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Bb, F9, F, Bb/C, Bb4 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Dbm6, C#m6 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Dbm6 Ab Abiv6 → Iminor plagal Fmvi6 → III ×7
C#m6 G# Abiv6 → Iminor plagal Fmvi6 → III ×2
Bbm7 Eb Abii7 → Vii → V Fmiv7 → VII ×2
Dbm6 G# Abiv6 → Iminor plagal Fmvi6 → III ×1
D#9 Fm7 AbV7 → vi7deceptive cadence FmVII7 → i7Aeolian arrival ×1
A#m7 D#9 Abii7 → V7ii → V Fmiv7 → VII7 ×1

The move to watch is Dbm6 → Ab, heard 7 times. From the Ab side it reads iv6 → I (minor plagal: a bittersweet arrival with a borrowed iv); from the Fm side it is vi6 → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 Fm7, land on F, Ab, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dbm6, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Dbm6, follow the chord's notes (Db · Fb · Ab · Bb) 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 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

1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch
4 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Ab; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Fm7, Ab, Dbm6, Bbm7 — vi7–I–iv6–ii7 from the Ab side, i7–III–vi6–iv7 from the Fm side. Bb adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to D#. Keep an ear on Dbm6 → Ab (iv6 → I in Ab, vi6 → III in Fm): minor plagal — a bittersweet arrival with a borrowed iv. Ending on Bb, 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.

Whitney Houston - Run to You 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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