Adele - Rolling in the Deep - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Bb, Cm, Gm, Ab, G7 Easy key C (capo 3)

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Capo 0

Cm

Cm                   Gm
There's a fire starting in my heart
  Bb                               Gm                     Bb
Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark
Cm                Gm
Finally, I can see you crystal clear
  Bb                             Gm                   Bb
Go ahead and sell me out, and I'll lay your ship bare

Cm                         Gm
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
  Bb                      Gm                  Bb
Don't underestimate the things that I will do

Cm                    Gm
There's a fire starting in my heart
  Bb                               Gm                     Bb
Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark

Ab         Bb                      Gm
 The scars of your love, remind me of us
             Ab
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
             Bb                       Gm
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
             G7
I can't help feeling

                     Cm                            Bb
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you, never had met me)
               Ab
Rolling in the Deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
    Bb                                     Cm           Bb
You had my heart (you're gonna wish you) Inside of your hand (Never had met me)
         Ab                                                              Bb
And you played it (Tears are gonna fall) To the beat (Rolling in the deep)

Cm                Gm
Baby I have no story to be told
   Bb                                       Gm               Bb
But I've heard one on you, now I'm gonna make your head burn
Cm                    Gm
Think of me in the depths of your despair
    Bb                      Gm                       Bb
Make a home down there, as mine sure won't be shared

Ab         Bb                      Gm
 The scars of your love, remind me of us
             Ab
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
             Bb                       Gm
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
             G7
I can't help feeling (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

                     Cm                            Bb
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you, never had met me)
               Ab
Rolling in the Deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
    Bb                                     Cm           Bb
You had my heart (you're gonna wish you) Inside of your hand (Never had met me)
         Ab                                                              Bb
And you played it (Tears are gonna fall) To the beat (Rolling in the deep)

                  Ab   Bb
Could have had it all 
               Cm   Bb
Rolling in the Deep 
                   Ab
You had my heart inside of your hand
           Bb
But you played it with a beating

Cm                     Gm
Throw yourself through every open door
Bb                      Gm                    Bb
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Cm             Gm
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
       Bb                      Gm                 Bb
You'll pay me back in kind And reap just what you sow

 Cm                    Bb
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
                     Ab                                         Bb
We could have had it all (Tears are gonna fall, Rolling in the deep)
     Bb              Cm                              Bb
We could have had it all yeah (You're gonna wish you never had met me)
   Ab
It all, It all, It all (Tears are gonna fall Rolling in the deep)

                     Cm                            Bb
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you, never had met me)
               Ab
Rolling in the Deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
    Bb                                     Cm           Bb
You had my heart (you're gonna wish you) Inside of your hand (Never had met me)
         Ab                                                              Bb
And you played it (Tears are gonna fall) To the beat (Rolling in the deep)

                     Cm                            Bb
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you, never had met me)
               Ab
Rolling in the Deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
    Bb                                     Cm           Bb
You had my heart (you're gonna wish you) Inside of your hand (Never had met me)
          Ab
But you played it, you played it, you played it
                     Cm
You played it to the beat

End of song Play again?

Adele - Rolling in the Deep Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Rolling in the Deep: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Ab (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Ab (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Bb (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C minor side because it both starts and finishes on Cm, Cm is heard 21 times while Eb never appears and the major V chord points straight at Cm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	—
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	20×
V7/vi	G7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D · F	2×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	16×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	42×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	21×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	21×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	—
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	20×
V7	G7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D · F	2×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	16×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	42×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 5 different chords appear 101 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Cm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Eb, the same G7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Cm.

Chord movement

Bb Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×15
Ab Bb EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×14
G7 Cm EbV7/vi → visecondary resolution CmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×2
Ab Cm EbIV → vi CmVI → iVI → i ×2

The move to watch is Bb → Cm, heard 15 times. From the Cm side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home); from the Eb side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected Eb, lands on Cm). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

Eb major pentatonic and C minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Eb – F – G – Bb – C): start from Eb for a brighter phrase, from C for a bluesier one.
Over Bb, land on Bb, D, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Cm, land on C, Eb, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gm, land on G, Bb, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When G7 comes, swap the scale's Bb for B: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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 Eb major shapes

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch
4 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Cm; the ear learns where home is within a second. Bb, Cm, Gm, Ab carry the song: V–vi–iii–IV relative to Eb, VII–i–v–VI relative to Cm. G7 is the interesting twist: in Eb it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Cm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bb → Cm (V → vi in Eb, VII → i in Cm): Aeolian arrival — rises a whole tone into home. It closes on Cm, letting the Cm side have the last word.

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.