Major view
A major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman - Chord
Key A major – F# minor Chords A, F#m, E, D, Dm, G7, C, Am … Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
Capo: 0
E|-----------------------|
B|-----------------------|
G|-----------------------|
D|-----------0-----------|
A|---------2-------------|
E|-0--0--4---------------|
E|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|-------------0--4--2--0--|
A|----------2--------------|
E|-0--0--4-----------------|
A F#m
Pretty Woman, walking down the street
A F#m
Pretty Woman, the kind I like to meet
D
Pretty woman
E
I don't believe you your not the truth
No one could look as good as you
A F#m
Pretty woman, won't you pardon me
A F#m
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
D
Pretty woman
E
you look lovely as can be
E
are you lonely just like me
Dm G7 C Am
Pretty woman, stop a while, Pretty woman, talk a while
Dm G7 C C7
Pretty woman, give your smile to me
Dm G7 C Am
Pretty woman, yeah,yeah,yeah, Pretty woman look my way
Dm G7 C A
Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me-eee
F#m D E
Coz' I need you, I'll treat you right
A F#m D E
Come with me baby, be mine tonight
A F#m A F#m
Pretty woman, don't walk on by, Pretty woman, don't make me cry
D
Pretty woman,
E
Don't walk away, hey, okay, if that's the way it must be okay
I guess I go on home, it's late, there'll be tomorrow night but wait
(stop)
What do I see?
Is she walking back to me? Yeah, shes walking back to me
Oh, Oh Pretty
A
Woman
End of song Play again?
Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Roy Orbison – Pretty Woman: key and chord analysis
The song opens on A and ends on A. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
F# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = E (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the A major side because it both starts and finishes on A and A is heard 9 times against 8 for F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from F# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to A or to F#m; 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 | A | Tonic — home | A · C# · E | 9× |
| i | Am | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E | 2× |
| ii | Bm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F# | — |
| bIII | C | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | C · E · G | 4× |
| bIII7 | C7 | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | C · E · G · Bb | 1× |
| iii | C#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | C# · E · G# | — |
| V/vi | C# | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to F#msecondary dominant | C# · E# · G# | — |
| IV | D | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F# · A | 5× |
| iv | Dm | Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | D · F · A | 4× |
| V | E | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B | 6× |
| vi | F#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | F# · A · C# | 8× |
| bVII7 | G7 | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | G · B · D · F | 4× |
| vii° | G#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | G# · B · D | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | Tonic — home | F# · A · C# | 8× |
| bII7 | G7 | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | G · B · D · F | 4× |
| ii° | G#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G# · B · D | — |
| III | A | Relative major — the bright side | A · C# · E | 9× |
| iii | Am | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E | 2× |
| iv | Bm | Subdominant — moves away from home | B · D · F# | — |
| #IV | C | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · E · G | 4× |
| #IV7 | C7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · E · G · Bb | 1× |
| v | C#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | C# · E · G# | — |
| V | C# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | C# · E# · G# | — |
| VI | D | Submediant — warm colour | D · F# · A | 5× |
| vi | Dm | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | D · F · A | 4× |
| VII | E | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B | 6× |
Analysis
The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 9 different chords appear 43 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Dm, G7, C, C7 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
- D E AIV → VIV → V F#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×5
- E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×4
- G7 C AbVII7 → bIIIsecondary resolution F#mbII7 → #IV ×4
The move to watch is D → E, heard 5 times. From the A side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the F#m 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.
Improvisation tips
- A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
- Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over F#m, land on F#, A, C# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On Dm, follow the chord's notes (D · F · A) 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 A major shapes
- No capo — open A shapes
- Capo 2 + G shapes
- Capo 5 + E shapes
With F# minor shapes
- Capo 2 + Em shapes
- Capo 4 + Dm shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
The opening A lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are A, F#m, E, D; read them as I–vi–V–IV in A or III–i–VII–VI in F#m. Dm briefly darkens the picture: minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minor. Keep an ear on D → E (IV → V in A, VI → VII in F#m): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. It closes on A, letting the A 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.
Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
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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