Major view
Db major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = C (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = Gb (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Imagine Dragons - Believer - Chord
Key Db major – Bb minor Chords Gb, F, Bbm, Ab Easy key C (capo 1)
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Key: Db | A#m | Bbm
Capo: 0
Bbm Gb
First things first, I'ma say all the words inside my head
F Bbm
I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, ohooh
Gb F
The way that things have been, ohoohooh
Bbm Gb
Second thing second, don't you tell me what you think that I can be
F Bbm
I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, ohooh
Gb F
The master of my sea, ohoohooh
Bbm
I was broken from a young age, taking my sulking to the masses
Gb F
Write down my poems for the few, that looked at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me
Bbm
Singing from heartache, from the pain, take up my message from the veins
Gb F
Speaking my lesson from the brain, seeing the beauty through the
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you break me down, you build me up, believer, believer
Bbm Gb
Pain, oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
F
My life, my love, my drive, they came from
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Bbm Gb
Third things third, send a prayer to the ones up above
F Bbm
All the hate that you've heard has turned your spirit to a dove, ohooh
Gb F
Your spirit up above, ohoohooh
Bbm
I was choking in the crowd, building my rain up in the cloud
Gb F
Falling like ashes to the ground, hoping my feelings, they would drown
Bbm
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing, inhibited, limited
Gb F
Till it broke open and rained down, it rained down, like
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you break me down, you build me up, believer, believer
Bbm Gb
Pain, oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
F
My life, my love, my drive, they came from
Bbm Gb F
Pain, you made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Gb F
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Bbm Gb
Last things last, by the grace of the fire and the flames
F Bbm
You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, ohooh
Gb F
The blood in my veins, ohoohooh
Gb
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing, inhibited, limited
Ab F
Till it broke open and rained down, it rained down, like
End of song Play again?
Imagine Dragons - Believer Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Imagine Dragons – Believer: key and chord analysis
The song opens on Bbm and ends on F. Its chords belong to both Db major and Bbm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
Bb minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = Gb (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = Ab (natural-minor colour)
- #7 = A (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 Bb minor side because it opens on Bbm, Bbm is heard 20 times while Db never appears and the major V chord points straight at Bbm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Db 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 Db or to Bbm; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Db | Tonic — home | Db · F · Ab | — |
| ii | Ebm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | Eb · Gb · Bb | — |
| iii | Fm | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | F · Ab · C | — |
| V/vi | F | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bbmsecondary dominant | F · A · C | 22× |
| IV | Gb | Subdominant — moves away from home | Gb · Bb · Db | 22× |
| V | Ab | Dominant — strongest pull home | Ab · C · Eb | 1× |
| vi | Bbm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | Bb · Db · F | 20× |
| vii° | Cdim | Leading-tone chord — tension | C · Eb · Gb | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bbm | Tonic — home | Bb · Db · F | 20× |
| ii° | Cdim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | C · Eb · Gb | — |
| III | Db | Relative major — the bright side | Db · F · Ab | — |
| iv | Ebm | Subdominant — moves away from home | Eb · Gb · Bb | — |
| v | Fm | Minor dominant — soft pull | F · Ab · C | — |
| V | F | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | F · A · C | 22× |
| VI | Gb | Submediant — warm colour | Gb · Bb · Db | 22× |
| VII | Ab | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | Ab · C · Eb | 1× |
Analysis
The key pair is Db major and its relative Bb minor (5 flats). 4 different chords appear 65 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Bbm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Db, the same F is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Bbm.
Chord movement
- F Bbm DbV/vi → vi BbmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×19
- Gb Ab DbIV → VIV → V BbmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1
The move to watch is F → Bbm, heard 19 times. From the Bbm side it is V → i (harmonic-minor cadence: the major V resolves dramatically); from the Db side it reads V/vi → vi. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- Db major pentatonic and Bb minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Db – Eb – F – Ab – Bb): start from Db for a brighter phrase, from Bb for a bluesier one.
- Over Gb, land on Gb, Bb, Db — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Bbm, land on Bb, Db, F — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- When F comes, swap the scale's Ab for A: 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 Db major shapes
- Capo 1 + C shapes
- Capo 4 + A shapes
- Capo 6 + G shapes
With Bb minor shapes
- Capo 1 + Am shapes
- Capo 6 + Em shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch
- 4 semitones up
The song's harmonic story
The first chord is Bbm; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Gb, F, Bbm, Ab — IV–V/vi–vi–V from the Db side, VI–V–i–VII from the Bbm side. F is the interesting twist: in Db it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Bbm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on F → Bbm (V/vi → vi in Db, V → i in Bbm): harmonic-minor cadence — the major V resolves dramatically. The final chord is F; the ear comes to rest in Db.
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.
Imagine Dragons - Believer Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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