Taylor Swift - Down Bad - Chord

Key B major – G# minor Chords B, E, Abm, Gb4, B/D# Easy key G (capo 4)

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Capo 0

B  Gb4  Abm  E

B                        Gb4
  Did you really beam me up
B/D#                          E
     In a cloud of sparkling dust
              B
Just to do experiments on
                  Gb4
Tell me I'm the chosen one
                            
Show me that this world 
    B/D#
Is bigger than us
                           E
Then sent me back where I came from

B
  For a moment, I knew cosmic love

 B
Now I'm down bad crying at the gym
Gb4
Everything comes out teenage petulance
 Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him
   E
I might just die 

It would make no difference
 B
Down bad, waking up in blood
  Gb4
Staring at the sky

Come back and pick me up
 Abm
Fuck it, if I can't have us
   E                    
I might just not get up 
             
I might stay 

 B
Down bad
 B/D#                         Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him, down bad
 E
Fuck it if I can't have him

B                           Gb4
  Did you take all my old clothes
 B/D#                  E
Just to leave me here naked and alone
                  B
In a field in my same old town
                       Gb4
That somehow seems so hollow now
                           B/D#      
They'll say I'm nuts if I talk about 
    E
The existence of you

B
  For a moment I was heavenstruck

         B
Now I'm down bad crying at the gym
Gb4
Everything comes out teenage petulance
 Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him 

   E
I might just die 

It would make no difference
 B
Down bad, waking up in blood
  Gb4
Staring at the sky 

Come back and pick me up
 Abm
Fuck it, if I can't have us
   E                
I might just not get up 
           
I might stay 

 B
Down bad 

 Gb4                          Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him, down bad
 E
Fuck it if I can't have him

B                         B/D#
I loved you hostile takeovers
                          Abm
Encounters closer and closer
                          E
All your indescent exposures
                        
How dare you say that it's
B                               B/D#
I'll build you a fort on some planet
                              Abm
Where they can all understand it
                           E
How dare you think it's romantic
                          B
Leaving me safe and stranded
        B/D#                 Abm
'Cause fuck it I was in love
    E                          
So fuck you if I can't have us

        E
'Cause fuck it I was in love

         B
Now I'm down bad crying at the gym
Gb4
Everything comes out teenage petulance
 Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him 

   E
I might just die 

It would make no difference

 B 
Down bad, waking up in blood
  Gb4
Staring at the sky 

Come back and pick me up
 Abm
Fuck it, if I can't have us
   E                
I might just not get up 
              B
I might stay down bad 

 B/D#                         Abm
Fuck it if I can't have him, down bad
 E
Fuck it if I can't have him

B  B/D#  Abm  E
B  B/D#  Abm  E

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Down Bad Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Down Bad: key and chord analysis

The song opens on B and ends on E. Its chords belong to both B major and G#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

B major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

G# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = E (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = F# (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the B major side because it opens on B and B is heard 32 times against 15 for G#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from G# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to B or to G#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 B major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	B	Tonic — home	B · D# · F#	21×
I	B/D#	Tonic — home	B · D# · F#	11×
ii	C#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G#	—
iii	D#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	D# · F# · A#	—
V/vi	D#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Abmsecondary dominant	D# · G · A#	—
IV	E	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G# · B	20×
V	Gb4	Dominant — strongest pull home	Gb · Bb · Db	12×
vi	Abm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Ab · Cb · Eb	15×
vii°	A#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	A# · C# · E	—

Seen from G# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Abm	Tonic — home	Ab · Cb · Eb	15×
ii°	A#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A# · C# · E	—
III	B	Relative major — the bright side	B · D# · F#	21×
III	B/D#	Relative major — the bright side	B · D# · F#	11×
iv	C#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	C# · E · G#	—
v	D#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	D# · F# · A#	—
V	D#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	D# · G · A#	—
VI	E	Submediant — warm colour	E · G# · B	20×
VII	Gb4	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Gb · Bb · Db	12×

Analysis

The key pair is B major and its relative G# minor (5 sharps). 5 different chords appear 79 times in total; 5 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

E B BIV → Iplagal cadence G#mVI → III ×18
Gb4 Abm BV → videceptive cadence G#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×8
Gb4 B/D# BV → Iauthentic cadence G#mVII → III ×4

The move to watch is E → B, heard 18 times. From the B side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the G#m side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

B major pentatonic and G# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (B – C# – D# – F# – G#): start from B for a brighter phrase, from G# for a bluesier one.
Over B, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Abm, land on Ab, Cb, Eb — 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 B major shapes

Capo 2 + A shapes
Capo 4 + G shapes
Capo 7 + E shapes

With G# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Em shapes
Capo 6 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is B; the ear learns where home is within a second. B, E, Abm, Gb4 carry the song: I–IV–vi–V relative to B, III–VI–i–VII relative to G#m. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on E → B (IV → I in B, VI → III in G#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is E; the ear comes to rest in B.

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.