Madonna - American Life - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords F#m, Bm, A, C#, C#7, C#m Easy key C

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Capo 0

F#m
Do I have to change my name?
Will it get me far?
Should I lose some weight?
F#m I gonna be a star?
 
F#m
I tried to be a boy, I tried to be a girl
                                             C#
I tried to be a mess, I tried to be the best
                        C#7                            Bm
I guess I did it wrong, that's why I wrote this song
             F#m
This type of modern life, is it for me?
 
I'd like to express my extreme point of view
I'd like to express my extreme point of view
 
So I went into a bar, looking for sympathy
A little company, I tried to find a friend
It's more easily said, it's always been the same
This type of modern life, is not for me
This type of modern life, is not for free
Do I have to change my name?
 
F#m                A
American life (American life)
F#m                A
I live the American dream (American dream)
    Bm                                C#m
You are the best thing I've seen
    Bm
You are not just a dream
 
I tried to stay ahead, I tried to stay on top
I tried to play the part, but some how I forgot
Just what I did it for, and why I wanted more
This type of modern life, is it for me?
F... it
Ah, f... it
Ah, f... it
Ah, f... it
Ah, f... it, uh-huh
 
This is, a Madonna exclusive
This is, the American life, f... it
 
I'm drinking a Soy latte
I get a double shoté
It goes right through my body
And you know I'm satisfied
I drive my Mini Cooper
And I'm feeling super-dooper
Yo they tell I'm a trooper
And you know I'm satisfied
I do yoga and palates
And the room is full of hotties
So I'm checking out the bodies
And you know I'm satisfied
I'm digging on the isotopes
This metaphysic's s... is dope
And if all this can give me hope
You know I'm satisfied
I got a lawyer and a manager
An agent and a chef
Three nannies, an assistant
And a driver and a jet
A trainer and a butler
And a bodyguard or five
A gardener and a stylist
Do you think I'm satisfied?
I'd like to express my extreme point of view
I'm not Christian and I'm not a Jew
I'm just living out the American dream
And I just realised that nothing
Is what it seems
What it seems

End of song Play again?

Madonna - American Life Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – American Life: key and chord analysis

The song opens on F#m and ends on Bm. 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)
#7 = E# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F# minor side because it opens on F#m, F#m is heard 5 times against 2 for A and the major V chord points straight at F#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from A 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 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	2×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	3×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	1×
V/vi	C#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to F#msecondary dominant	C# · E# · G#	1×
V7/vi	C#7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to F#msecondary dominant	C# · E# · G# · B	1×
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	5×
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#	5×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	2×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	3×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	1×
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	1×
V7	C#7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G# · B	1×
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 6 different chords appear 13 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of F#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from A, the same C# / C#7 is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for F#m.

Chord movement

Bm F#m Aii → vi F#miv → iminor plagal ×1

The move to watch is Bm → F#m, heard once. From the F#m side it is iv → i (minor plagal: deep and melancholic); from the A side it reads ii → vi. 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 F#m, land on F#, A, C# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bm, land on B, D, F# — 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.
When C# comes, swap the scale's E for E#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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

3 semitones up
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening F#m lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is F#m, Bm, A, C# — vi–ii–I–V/vi from the A side, i–iv–III–V from the F#m side. C# is the interesting twist: in A it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in F#m it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Bm → F#m (ii → vi in A, iv → i in F#m): minor plagal — deep and melancholic. The final chord is Bm; the ear comes to rest in A.

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.