Justin Bieber - Lonely (Benny Blanco) - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords Gmaj7, F#m, A, Bm Easy key C (capo 2)

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Capo 0

Gmaj7  F#m  Bm

Gmaj7
 Everybody knows my name now
F#m
 But something 'bout it still feels strange
Bm
 Like looking in the mirror
 
 Tryna steady yourself and seeing somebody else
Gmaj7
 And everything is not the same now
F#m
 It feels like all our lives have changed
Bm
 Maybe when I'm older, it'll all calm down
 
 But it's killing me now

Gmaj7               A                 F#m
 What if you had it all but nobody to call
                 Gmaj7
Maybe then you'd know me
                     A
'Cause I've had everything
                   F#m
But no one's listening
                        Gmaj7
And that's just fucking lonely

       Gmaj7  A   F#m    Gmaj7
I'm so loooonely, loooonely

Gmaj7
 Everybody knows my past now
F#m
 Like my house was always made of glass
Bm
 And maybe that's the price you pay
 
 For the money and fame at an early age
Gmaj7
 And everybody saw me sick
F#m
 And it felt like no one gave a shit
Bm
 They criticized the things I did as an idiot kid

Gmaj7               A                 F#m
 What if you had it all but nobody to call
                 Gmaj7
Maybe then you'd know me
                     A
'Cause I've had everything
                   F#m
But no one's listening
                        Gmaj7
And that's just fucking lonely

       Gmaj7  A   F#m    Gmaj7
I'm so loooonely, loooonely

End of song Play again?

Justin Bieber - Lonely (Benny Blanco) Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Justin Bieber – Lonely (Benny Blanco): key and chord analysis

The song opens on Gmaj7 and ends on Gmaj7. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

D major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = C# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = G (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

B minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = G (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = A (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the B minor side because Bm is heard 5 times while D never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from D 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 D or to Bm; 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 D major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	D	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	—
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	—
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	11×
V/vi	F#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	—
IVmaj7	Gmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D · F#	15×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	6×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	5×
vii°	C#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C# · E · G	—

Seen from B minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bm	Tonic — home	B · D · F#	5×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	—
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	—
v	F#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	F# · A · C#	11×
V	F#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F# · A# · C#	—
VImaj7	Gmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D · F#	15×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	6×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 4 different chords appear 37 times in total; 4 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

Gmaj7 A DIVmaj7 → VIV → V BmVImaj7 → VIIVI → VII ×6
F#m Bm Diii → vi Bmv → inatural-minor cadence ×5

The move to watch is Gmaj7 → A, heard 6 times. From the Bm side it is VImaj7 → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the D side it reads IVmaj7 → 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

D major pentatonic and B minor pentatonic are the same five notes (D – E – F# – A – B): start from D for a brighter phrase, from B for a bluesier one.
Over Gmaj7, land on G, B, D — 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 D major shapes

No capo — open D shapes
Capo 2 + C shapes
Capo 5 + A shapes

With B minor shapes

Capo 2 + Am shapes
Capo 7 + Em shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Gmaj7; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Gmaj7, F#m, A, Bm — IVmaj7–iii–V–vi from the D side, VImaj7–v–VII–i from the Bm side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Gmaj7 → A (IVmaj7 → V in D, VImaj7 → VII in Bm): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. The final chord is Gmaj7; the ear comes to rest in D.

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.