Robbie Williams - Advertising Space - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, G, Em, F, Am, Dm Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

C  Em  C  Em  C  Em

C
There's no earthly way of knowing
         G
what was in you heart when it stopped going
    F                                       C           G
the whole world shook the storm was blowing through you
C
Waiting for God to stop this
    G
and up to your neck in darkness
F                       C             G
everyone around you was corrupted say something

Am                   Em                                Dm
Theres no dignity in death to sell the world your last breath
                            F
they're still fighting over everything you left oh

C                         Em
I saw you standing at the gates
                          Am
when marlon brando passed away
             G               F
you had that look upon your face
advertising space and
C                           Em
No one learned from your mistakes
                         Am
we let our profets go to waste
           G             F
all that's left in any case is advertising space oh

C
Through your eyes the world was burning
G
please be gentle i'm still learning
    F                                 C   G
you seem to say that you kept turning up
C
they poisoned you with compromise
G
at what point did you realize
F                             C      G
everybody loves your life but you oh oh

Am                    Em
special agent for the man
                      Dm
through watergate and veatnam
                     F
No one really gave a dam do ya think the CIA did

C                         Em
I saw you standing at the gates
                         Am
when marlon brando passed away
             G               F
you had that look upon your face
advertising space and
C                        Em
No one learned from your mistakes
                         Am
we let our profits go to waste
          G             F
all thats left in any case
is advertising space oh

C  Em  C  Em  C  Em  Am  G  F

C                        Em
No one learned from your mistakes
                         Am
we let our profits go to waste
          G             F
all these left in any case
is advertising space oh
C                                Em
i've seen your daughter man shes cute
                          Am
i was scared but i wanted to
        G               F
boy she looks alot like you.

End of song Play again?

Robbie Williams - Advertising Space Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Robbie Williams – Advertising Space: key and chord analysis

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

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)

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C major side because it opens on C and C is heard 20 times against 9 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.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

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.

Seen from C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	20×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	2×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	14×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	13×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	15×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	9×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	9×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	20×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	2×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	14×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	13×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	15×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 6 different chords appear 73 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×12
Em Am Ciii → vi Amv → inatural-minor cadence ×7
G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×2
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×2

The move to watch is F → C, heard 12 times. From the C side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Am side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + 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. C, G, Em, F carry the song: I–V–iii–IV relative to C, III–VII–v–VI relative to Am. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on F → C (IV → I in C, VI → III in Am): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is F; the ear comes to rest in C.

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.