Madonna - Don't Tell Me - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords D, Am, C, G, F Easy key D (capo 5)

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

D       Am         C      G
Don't tell me to stop
D       Am            C      G
Tell the rain not to drop
D        Am           C      G
Tell the wind not to blow
D       Am      C      G
'Cause you said so, mmm


D       Am           C      G
Tell the sun not to shine
      D       Am         C    G
Not to get up this time, no, no
D       Am         C      G
Let it fall by the way
        D       Am         C      G
But don't leave me where I lay down


D    Am    C        G
Tell me love isn't true
             D       Am      C      G
It's just something that we do
D    Am    C          G
Tell me everything I'm not
      D          Am         C      G
But please don't tell me to stop
      D       Am            C      G
But don't ever tell me to stop


D       Am               C      G
Tell the leaves not to turn
          D       Am         C      G
But don't ever tell me I'll learn, no, no
D       Am             C      G
Take the black off a crow
          D       Am         C      G
But don't tell me I have to go
D       Am         C      G
Tell the bed not to lay
         D       Am          C      G
Like the open mouth of a grave, yeah
D       Am         C      G
Not to stare up at me
        D       Am          C      G
Like a calf down on its knees
D  Am   C   G  (repeated)

[Chorus 2]
(muted)
Tell me love isn't true
(muted)
It's just something that we do
D    Am       C      G
Tell me everything I'm not
    D           Am           C      G
But please don't tell me to stop
    D           Am           C      G
But don't ever tell me to stop
F
(inale)

[Outro]
  D       Am   C   G
(Don't you ever)
D       Am        
Please don't
C        G
Please don't
D           Am           C      G
Please don't tell me to stop
(Don't you ever)
D      Am   C  G
Don't you ever
D        Am             C     G
Don't ever tell me to stop
(Tell the rain not to drop)
D         Am           C   G
Tell the bed not to lay
         D      Am        C      G
Like a open mouth of a grave, yeah
D          Am        C     G
Not to stare up at me
       D       Am        C        G
Like a calf down on its knees



D    Am    C     G    (repeated until your fingers bleed

End of song Play again?

Madonna - Don't Tell Me Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – Don't Tell Me: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on G. 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 G major side because it comes to rest on G and G is heard 33 times while Em never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	33×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	33×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
III	B	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	33×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	33×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	—
bVII	F	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	F · A · C	1×
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	—
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	1×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	33×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	33×
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	33×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	33×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 5 different chords appear 133 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×33

The move to watch is C → G, heard 33 times. From the G side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Em side it is VI → III. 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 D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On F, follow the chord's notes (F · A · C) 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 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

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening D lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is D, Am, C, G — V–ii–IV–I from the G side, VII–iv–VI–III from the Em side. F briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on C → G (IV → I in G, VI → III in Em): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on G, the song seals G as home. The lyric sheet marks 2 section types, so the same chord pattern returns in a clear, predictable order.

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.