Maroon 5 - Animals - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords C, Em, D Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

         Em
Baby I’m preying on you tonight
         D
Hunt you down, eat you alive
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
          Em
Maybe you think you that can hide
      D
I can smell your scent for miles
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
    Em                                 
Baby I'm               

                            D
So what you trying to do to me
                                      C
It's like we can't stop, we're enemies
                                     Em
But we get along when I'm inside you
                                    D
You're like a drug that's killing me
                      C
I cut you out entirely

But I get so high when I'm inside you

                   Em
Yeah you can start over

You can run free
             D
You can find other fish in the sea
            C
You can pretend it’s meant to be

But you can’t stay away from me
            Em
I can still hear you making that sound
         D
Taking me down rolling on the ground
            C
You can pretend it was me, but no

         Em
Baby I’m preying on you tonight
         D
Hunt you down, eat you alive
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
          Em
Maybe you think you that can hide
      D
I can smell your scent for miles
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
    Em                               
Baby I'm

                         D
So if I run, it's not enough
                                   C 
You're still in my head, forever stuck
                                
But you can do, what you wanna do
Em                               D
I love your lies, I'll eat 'em up
                         C
But don't deny the animal

That comes alive when I'm inside you
  
                D
Don’t tell no lie
                C
You can’t deny
C               
The beast inside
C              
Yeah yeah yeah
Em                D
No girl don't lie
D               
You can't deny
C                
The beast inside
     C           
Yeah yeah yeah

          Em        
Just like animals, animals, like animals
          Em                        
Just like animals, animals, like animals

         Em
Baby I’m preying on you tonight
         D
Hunt you down, eat you alive
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
          Em
Maybe you think you that can hide
     D
I can smell your scent for miles
          C
Just like animals, animals, like animals
    Em                               
Baby I'm

End of song Play again?

Maroon 5 - Animals Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Maroon 5 – Animals: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Em and ends on Em. 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 E minor side because it both starts and finishes on Em and Em is heard 16 times while G never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from G 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 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	—
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	17×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	15×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	16×
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	16×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	—
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	17×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	15×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 3 different chords appear 48 times in total; 3 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

C Em GIV → vi EmVI → iVI → i ×13
C D GIV → VIV → V EmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1

The move to watch is C → Em, heard 13 times. From the Em side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home); from the G side it reads IV → vi. 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 C, land on C, E, G — 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.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — 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 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 first chord is Em; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are C, Em, D; read them as IV–vi–V in G or VI–i–VII in Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C → Em (IV → vi in G, VI → i in Em): VI → i — falls a half step into home. The final chord is Em; the ear comes to rest in Em.

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.