Sia - Big Girls Cry - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords Bb, C, Am, Gm, Dm, F Easy key G

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Capo 0

Dm  F  C  Gm
 
Dm     F    C  Gm
 Though girl in  the fast lane
Dm  F
 No time for love
C   Gm
 No time for hate
Dm  F
 No  drama
C      Gm
 No time for games
Dm    F    C      Gm
 Tough girl whose soul aches
 
       Bb        Dm              C
I'm at home on my own, check my phone
        Gm             Bb
Nothing though, act busy
   Dm       Am
Order in Pay TV

It's agony

Bb     C        Am      Bb
 I may cry ruinin' my make up
Bb     C           Am              Bb
 Wash away all the things you've taken
Bb           C         Am             Bb
 And I don't care if I don't look pretty
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am            Bb
 Big girls cry when their heart is breaking
 
Dm    F    C   Gm
 Tough girl I'm in pain
Dm          F
 It's lonely at the top
C            Gm
 Black outs, and airplanes
Dm  F            C         Gm
 I   still pour you a glass of champagne
Dm    F    C      Gm
 Tough girl whose soul aches

       Bb        Dm              C
I'm at home on my own, check my phone
        Gm             Bb
Nothing though, act busy
   Dm       Am
Order in Pay TV

It's agony

Bb     C        Am      Bb
 I may cry ruinin' my make up
Bb     C           Am              Bb
 Wash away all the things you've taken
Bb           C         Am             Bb
 And I don't care if I don't look pretty
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am            Bb
 Big girls cry when their heart is breaking

Gm        F         C
 I wake up I wake up I wake up  I wake up
Gm        F         C
 I wake up I wake up I wake up  I wake up
Gm        F         C
 I wake up I wake up I wake up  I wake up
Gm        F    C
 I wake up I looove

Bb     C        Am      Bb
 I may cry ruinin' my make up
Bb     C           Am              Bb
 Wash away all the things you've taken
Bb           C         Am             Bb
 And I don't care if I don't look pretty
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am              Bb
 Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking
Bb         C              Am            Bb
 Big girls cry when their heart is breaking

End of song Play again?

Sia - Big Girls Cry Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sia – Big Girls Cry: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dm and ends on Bb. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = E (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Bb (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D minor side because it opens on Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from F 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 F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	13×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	15×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	20×
V/vi	A	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	—
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	40×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	33×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	13×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	13×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	13×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	15×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	20×
V	A	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E	—
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	40×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	33×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 6 different chords appear 134 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

Bb C FIV → VIV → V DmVI → VIIVI → VII ×18
Gm Dm Fii → vi Dmiv → iminor plagal ×7
Bb Dm FIV → vi DmVI → iVI → i ×5

The move to watch is Bb → C, heard 18 times. From the Dm side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the F side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over Bb, land on Bb, D, F — 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.
Over Am, 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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones up
5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Dm; the ear learns where home is within a second. Bb, C, Am, Gm carry the song: IV–V–iii–ii relative to F, VI–VII–v–iv relative to Dm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Bb → C (IV → V in F, VI → VII in Dm): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. The final chord is Bb; the ear comes to rest in F.

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.