Major view
C major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = B (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = F (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Key C major – A minor Chords F, G, C, Am, Em, Dm, G7 Easy key G (capo 5)
C F
There were nights when the wind was so cold
Dm Am
That my body froze in bed
C
If I just listened to it
G7 F G
Right outside the window
C F
There were days when the sun was so cruel
Dm Am
That all the tears turned to dust
C
And I just knew my eyes were
G7 F G
Drying up forever, forever
Em F G C
I finished crying in the instant that you left
Em F G
And I can't remember where or when or how
Em F G F G
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made
C
But when you touch me like this
G
And you hold me like that
F
I just have to admit
G
That it's all coming back to me
C
When I touch you like this
G
And I hold you like that
F
It's so hard to believe but
G
It's all coming back to me
C F
It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now
Em F
There were moments of gold
Am F
And there were flashes of light
Em F
There were things I'd never do again
Am F
But then they'd always seemed right
Am Dm
There were nights of endless pleasure
Am F Dm
It was more than any laws allow
G
Baby Baby
C
If I kiss you like this
G
And if you whisper like that
F
It was lost long ago
G
But it's all coming back to me
C
If you want me like this
G
And if you need me like that
F
It was dead long ago
G
But it's all coming back to me
F
It's so hard to resist
G
And it's all coming back to me
F
I can barely recall
G C G F G
But it's all coming back to me now
C G F G
But it's all coming back
C F
There were those empty threats and hollow lies
Dm Am
And whenever you tried to hurt me
C G7
I just hurt you even worse
F G
And so much deeper
C F
There were hours that just went on for days
Dm Am C
When alone at last we'd count up all the chances
G7 F G
That were lost to us forever, forever
Em F G C
But you were history with the slamming of the door
Em F G
And I made myself so strong again somehow
Em F Dm G F G
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then
C
But if I touch you like this
G
And if you kiss me like that
F
It was so long ago
G
But it's all coming back to me
C
If you touch me like this
G
And if I kiss you like that
F
It was gone with the wind
G
But it's all coming back to me
C F
It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now
Em F
There were moments of gold
Am F
And there were flashes of light
Em F
There were things we'd never do again
Am F
But then they'd always seemed right
Am Dm
There were nights of endless pleasure
Am F Dm
It was more than all your laws allow
G
Baby, Baby, Baby
C
When you touch me like this
G
And when you hold me like that
F
It was gone with the wind
G
But it's all coming back to me
C
When you see me like this
G
And when I see you like that
F
Then we see what we want to see
G
All coming back to me
F
The flesh and the fantasies
G
All coming back to me
F
I can barely recall
G C
But it's all coming back to me now
G C G C G F G
C
If you forgive me all this
G
If I forgive you all that
F
We forgive and forget
G
And it's all coming back to me
C
When you see me like this
G
And when I see you like that
F
We see just what we want to see
G
All coming back to me
F
The flesh and the fantasies
G
All coming back to me
F G C
I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now
F
C
And when you kiss me like this
F
C
And when I touch you like that
F
C
If you do it like this
F
C
And if we
End of song Play again?
Harmony analysis
The song opens on C and ends on C. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.
Major view
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
Minor view
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C major side because it both starts and finishes on C and C is heard 32 times against 12 for Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from A minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | C | Tonic — home | C · E · G | 32× |
| ii | Dm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | D · F · A | 9× |
| iii | Em | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | E · G · B | 10× |
| V/vi | E | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant | E · G# · B | — |
| IV | F | Subdominant — moves away from home | F · A · C | 51× |
| V | G | Dominant — strongest pull home | G · B · D | 48× |
| V7 | G7 | Dominant — strongest pull home | G · B · D · F | 4× |
| vi | Am | Relative minor — the melancholy side | A · C · E | 12× |
| vii° | Bdim | Leading-tone chord — tension | B · D · F | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Am | Tonic — home | A · C · E | 12× |
| ii° | Bdim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F | — |
| III | C | Relative major — the bright side | C · E · G | 32× |
| iv | Dm | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F · A | 9× |
| v | Em | Minor dominant — soft pull | E · G · B | 10× |
| V | E | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | E · G# · B | — |
| VI | F | Submediant — warm colour | F · A · C | 51× |
| VII | G | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | G · B · D | 48× |
| VII7 | G7 | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | G · B · D · F | 4× |
The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 7 different chords appear 166 times in total; 7 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.
The move to watch is F → G, heard 30 times. From the C side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Am side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.
The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is F, G, C, Am — IV–V–I–vi from the C side, VI–VII–III–i from the Am side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on F → G (IV → V in C, VI → VII in Am): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. Ending on C, the song seals C 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.
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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