Eric Clapton - Bad Love - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Bb, C, Bm, E, A, Am, Dm, G5 Difficulty already in its easiest key

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

Bm                   E                 A
Oh, what a feeling I get when I'm with you
Bm                     E              A
You take my heart into everything you do
       Bb       C           Am     Bb
And it makes me sad for the lonely people
Bb            C           Dm
I walked that road for so long
      Bb        C              Am    Bb
Now I know that I'm one of the lucky people
 Bb           C         G5
Your love is making me strong

        Dm    C      G7/4
C I've had enough bad love
        Dm          C            G7/4
 I need something I can be proud of
        Dm    C       G7/4
I've had enough bad love
  Dm   C        Bb
    No more bad love

Bm                       E                A
   And now I see that my life has been so blue
 Bm                           E              A
   With all the heartaches I had 'till I met you
        Bb      C              Am    Bb
But I'm glad to say now that's all behind me
Bb         C          Dm
  With you here by my side
               Bb      C        Am   Bb
And there's no more memories to remind me
   Bb                C        G5
   Your love will keep me alive

End of song Play again?

Eric Clapton - Bad Love Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Eric Clapton – Bad Love: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Bm and ends on G5. 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)
#7 = G# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because C is heard 9 times against 4 for Am and the major V chord points straight at Am. 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 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	9×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	3×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	4×
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	—
V	G5	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · D	2×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	—
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	4×
V/ii	A	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	4×
bVII	Bb	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Bb · D · F	13×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—
vii	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	4×

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	4×
V/iv	A	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	4×
bII	Bb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	13×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
ii	Bm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D · F#	4×
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	9×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	3×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	4×
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	—
VII	G5	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · D	2×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	—

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 8 different chords appear 43 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. A acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Bb is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Bb C CbVII → IbVII → I AmbII → III ×8

The move to watch is Bb → C, heard 8 times. From the C side it reads bVII → I (bVII → I: a rock / Mixolydian arrival); from the Am side it is bII → 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 Bb, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bm, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E comes, swap the scale's G for G#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Bb, follow the chord's notes (Bb · D · F) 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 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

Starting on Bm, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are Bb, C, Bm, E; read them as bVII–I–vii–V/vi in C or bII–III–ii–V in Am. E is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bb → C (bVII → I in C, bII → III in Am): bVII → I — a rock / Mixolydian arrival. The final chord is G5; 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.