Adele - When We Were Young - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords G#, A#, Gm, D#, Cm, D#/E, Fm, G#m … Easy key G

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Capo 0

Cm   Gm   G#  D#/E
Fm   D#

Cm         Gm                   G# D#/E
Everybody loves the things you do
                   Fm                  D#
From the way you talk to the way you move
Cm         Gm         G#       D#/E
Everybody here is watching you
                     Fm                        D#        D# D#/B
Cause you feel like home, you're like a dream come true

Cm          Gm                 G#  D#/E            
But if by chance you're here alone
              Fm              D#  D# D#/B
Can I have a moment before I go
Cm                   Gm               G#  D#/E
Cause I've been by myself all night long
               Fm                 A#
Hoping you're someone I used to know

                 G#    A#            
You look like a movie 
                  Gm   G#
You sound like a song
               G#       A#
My god this reminds me   
                  Gm   A#
Of when we were young


        D#           Gm                 G#             A#            
Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time
        D#        Gm             G#             A#      
That we might be exactly like we were before we realized
        Cm            D#/E             G#       G#m     
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
                   Fm  G#                    A#    
It was just like a movie, it was just like a song

Cm         Gm               G#   D#/E
I was so scared to face my fears
              Fm                    D#
Cause nobody told me that you'd be here
Cm           Gm            G#  D#/E
And I swore you moved overseas
             Fm                     A#
That's what you said when you left me

                       G#    A#            
You still look like a movie 
                        Gm   G#
You still sound like a song
               G#       A#
My god this reminds me   
                  Gm   A#
Of when we were young

         D#           Gm                 G#             A#            
Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time
         D#        Gm             G#             A#      
That we might be exactly like we were before we realized
         Cm            D#/E             G#       G#m     
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
                    Fm  G#                    A#  A#/Ab
It was just like a movie, it was just like a song


      Cm            D#/G
When we were young
      G#            D#/E
When we were young
      Cm            D#
When we were young
      G#            A#/Ab
When we were young


      Cm     D#/G        G#               D#/E    
It's hard to admit that, everything just takes me back
         Fm           D#
To when you were there
         A#           A#/Ab
To when you were there
       Cm               D#/G       G#              D#/E
And a part of me keeps holding on just in case it hasn't gone
        Fm
I guess I still care
    A#            
Do you still care?


                    G#    A#            
It was just like a movie 
                    Gm   G#
It was just like a song
               G#       A#
My god this reminds me   
                  Gm   A#
Of when we were young


      D#            Gm
When we were young
      G#            A#
When we were young
      D#            Gm
When we were young
      G#            A#
When we were young


         D#           Gm                 G#             A#            
Let me photograph you in this light, in case it is the last time
         D#        Gm             G#             A#      
That we might be exactly like we were before we realized
         Cm            D#/E             G#      A#     
We were sad of getting old, it made us restless
            Cm             D#/E              G#      G#m     
Oh, I'm so mad I'm getting old, it makes me reckless
                    Fm  G#                    A#  
It was just like a movie, it was just like a song
              D#
When we were young

End of song Play again?

Adele - When We Were Young Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Adele – When We Were Young: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cm and ends on D#. 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)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the Eb major side because it comes to rest on Eb, it opens on Cm and Eb is heard 37 times against 15 for Cm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	D#	Tonic — home	D# · G · A#	18×
I	D#/E	Tonic — home	D# · G · A#	14×
I	D#/G	Tonic — home	D# · G · A#	3×
I	D#/B	Tonic — home	D# · G · A#	2×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	12×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	21×
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	G#	Subdominant — moves away from home	G# · B# · D#	35×
iv	G#m	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	G# · B · D#	3×
V	A#	Dominant — strongest pull home	A# · D · E#	25×
V	A#/Ab	Dominant — strongest pull home	A# · D · E#	3×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	15×
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	15×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	D#	Relative major — the bright side	D# · G · A#	18×
III	D#/E	Relative major — the bright side	D# · G · A#	14×
III	D#/G	Relative major — the bright side	D# · G · A#	3×
III	D#/B	Relative major — the bright side	D# · G · A#	2×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	12×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	21×
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	G#	Submediant — warm colour	G# · B# · D#	35×
vi	G#m	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G# · B · D#	3×
VII	A#	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A# · D · E#	25×
VII	A#/Ab	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A# · D · E#	3×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 11 different chords appear 151 times in total; 10 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G#m is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

G# A# EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×18
G# D#/E EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×10
A# D# EbV → Iauthentic cadence CmVII → III ×9
A# Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×5
A#/Ab Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×3
Fm A# Ebii → Vii → V Cmiv → VII ×3

The move to watch is G# → A#, heard 18 times. From the Eb side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Cm 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

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 G#, land on G#, B#, D# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over A#, land on A#, D, E# — 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.
On G#m, 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 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

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Cm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is G#, A#, Gm, D# — IV–V–iii–I from the Eb side, VI–VII–v–III from the Cm side. G#m briefly darkens the picture: minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minor. Keep an ear on G# → A# (IV → V in Eb, VI → VII in Cm): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. The final chord is D#; the ear comes to rest in Eb.

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.