Adele - Someone Like You - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords D, F#m, A, E, C#m, Bm Easy key G (capo 2)

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Capo 0

A C#m F#m D

A                   C#m
I heard that you're settled down
         F#m                     D
That you found a girl and you're married now
A                 C#m
I heard that your dreams came true
          F#m                      D
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you
A                       C#m
Old friend, why are you so shy?
           F#m                 D
Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light


  E                          F#m
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
      D                 
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it
    E                           F#m
I'd hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
         D            
That for me it isn't over


A                E                 F#m D
Never mind, I'll find someone like you
       A               E        F#m D
I wish nothing but the best for you two
         A         E           F#m        D
Don't forget me, I beg, I'll remember you said
             A                 E                    F#m   D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead
             A                 E                    F#m   D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead


    A            C#m
You know how the time flies
     F#m               D
Only yesterday was the time of our lives
        A                    C#m
We were born and raised in a summer haze
      F#m                    D
Bound by the surprise of our glory days


  E                          F#m
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
      D                 
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it
    E                       F#m
I'd hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
         D            
That for me it isn't over


A                E                 F#m D
Never mind, I'll find someone like you
       A               E        F#m D
I wish nothing but the best for you two
         A         E           F#m        D
Don't forget me, I beg, I'll remember you said
             A                 E                    F#m    D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead, yeah


E
Nothing compares, no worries or cares
  F#m
Regrets and mistakes, they are memories made
D                              Bm    A          D
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?


A                E                 F#m D
Never mind, I'll find someone like you
       A               E        F#m D
I wish nothing but the best for you...
         A         E           F#m        D
Don't forget me, I beg, I'll remember you said
             A                 E                    F#m   D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead


A                E                 F#m D
Never mind, I'll find someone like you
       A               E        F#m D
I wish nothing but the best for you two
         A         E           F#m        D
Don't forget me, I beg, I'll remember you said
             A                 E                    F#m   D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead
             A                 E                    F#m   D
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead

A

End of song Play again?

Adele - Someone Like You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – Someone Like You: 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.

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)

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 F#m is heard 29 times against 26 for A. 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.

Seen from A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	26×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	1×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	6×
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	30×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	23×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	29×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	29×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	26×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	1×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	6×
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	30×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	23×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 6 different chords appear 115 times in total; 6 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

D A AIV → Iplagal cadence F#mVI → III ×24
E F#m AV → videceptive cadence F#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×23
C#m F#m Aiii → vi F#mv → inatural-minor cadence ×6
D E AIV → VIV → V F#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×5

The move to watch is D → A, heard 24 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 D, land on D, F#, A — 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 A, land on A, C#, E — 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 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
3 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

Starting on A, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are D, F#m, A, E; read them as IV–vi–I–V in A or VI–i–III–VII in F#m. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on D → A (IV → I in A, VI → III in F#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. 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.