Elton John - Bennie And The Jets - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords Am, G, D, C, Em, F, G#, Bm … Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G  F

Am          D   
Hey kids, shake it loose together
     G          
The spotlight's hitting something
            G#  
That's been known to change the weather
Am                D
we'll kill the fatted calf tonight
         Em 
So stick around
        Am                   Bm
You're gonna hear electric music
               C 
Solid Walls of sound

     G 
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
     Am                    C  
But they're so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets
G
But they're weird an they're wonderful
    Am
Oh, Beannie she's really keen
          C                           D
She's got electrice [eletric] boots a mohair suit
           Em                    Em/D
You know I read it in a magazine
   C                    G  F
Oh! Bennie and the Jets

Am         D 
Hey kids, plug into the faithless
G
Maybe they're blinded
    G# 
But Bennie makes them ageless
Am                 D                     Em
We shall survive, let us take ourselves along
Am                                    Bm
Where we fight our parents out in the streets
                              C   
To find who's right and who's wrong

End of song Play again?

Elton John - Bennie And The Jets Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Elton John – Bennie And The Jets: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the G major side because it opens on G and G is heard 6 times against 4 for Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; 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 G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	6×
bII	G#	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G# · B# · D#	2×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	8×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	2×
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	5×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	5×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	3×
vi	Em/D	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	1×
bVII	F	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	F · A · C	2×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	3×
i	Em/D	Tonic — home	E · G · B	1×
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	2×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	6×
#III	G#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G# · B# · D#	2×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	8×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	2×
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	5×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	5×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 9 different chords appear 34 times in total; 7 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F, G# are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Am D Gii → Vii → V Emiv → VII ×4
D Em GV → videceptive cadence EmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3
C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×3
D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×2
C D GIV → VIV → V EmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1

The move to watch is Am → D, heard 4 times. From the G side it reads ii → V (ii → V: the classic preparation of the dominant); from the Em side it is iv → VII. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The opening G lays a solid floor for everything that follows. Am, G, D, C carry the song: ii–I–V–IV relative to G, iv–III–VII–VI relative to Em. F briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on Am → D (ii → V in G, iv → VII in Em): ii → V — the classic preparation of the dominant. The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in G.

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.