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)
John Denver - Take Me Home (Country Roads ) - Chord
Key A major – F# minor Chords A, E, D, F#m, G, E7 Easy key G (capo 2)
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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
Capo: 0
A F#m E D A
Almost Heaven; West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
A F#m E
Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains,
D A
Blowin like a breeze.
A E F#m D
Country Roads, take me home, to the place, I belong,
A E D A
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
A F#m E D A
All my memories gather round her, miner's lady, stranger to blue water.
A F#m E
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, misty taste of moonshine,
D A
Teardrop in my eye.
A E F#m D
Country Roads, take me home, to the place, I belong,
A E D A
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
F#m E A
I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me,
D A E
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
F#m G D
And driving down the road I get a feeling
A E E7
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.
A E F#m D
Country Roads, take me home, to the place, I belong,
A E D A
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
A E F#m D
Country Roads, take me home, to the place, I belong,
A E D A
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
E A E A
Take me home, country roads; take me home, down country roads
End of song Play again?
John Denver - Take Me Home (Country Roads ) Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
John Denver – Take Me Home (Country Roads ): 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 25 times against 10 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 | 25× |
| ii | Bm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F# | — |
| 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 | 14× |
| V | E | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B | 17× |
| V7 | E7 | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B · D | 1× |
| vi | F#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | F# · A · C# | 10× |
| bVII | G | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | G · B · D | 1× |
| vii° | G#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | G# · B · D | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | Tonic — home | F# · A · C# | 10× |
| bII | G | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | G · B · D | 1× |
| ii° | G#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G# · B · D | — |
| III | A | Relative major — the bright side | A · C# · E | 25× |
| iv | Bm | Subdominant — moves away from home | B · D · F# | — |
| 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 | 14× |
| VII | E | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B | 17× |
| VII7 | E7 | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B · D | 1× |
Analysis
The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 6 different chords appear 68 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
- D A AIV → Iplagal cadence F#mVI → III ×14
- E F#m AV → videceptive cadence F#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×5
- E A AV → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII → III ×3
- E7 A AV7 → Iauthentic cadence F#mVII7 → III ×1
The move to watch is D → A, heard 14 times. From the A side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the F#m side it is VI → III. 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 E, 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.
- On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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
- 2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
The song's harmonic story
The first chord is A; the ear learns where home is within a second. A, E, D, F#m carry the song: I–V–IV–vi relative to A, III–VII–VI–i relative to F#m. G briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on D → A (IV → I in A, VI → III in F#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on A, the song seals A as home.
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.
John Denver - Take Me Home (Country Roads ) 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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