Miley Cyrus - Gimme What I Want - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Ab, Cm, Bb, Fm, Gm Easy key G

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Capo 0

Cm  Ab  Fm  Gm  Ab  Bb

Cm
Midnight and the moon is out

Careful, you might hurt yourself
Ab
Pleasure leads to pain
   Fm         Gm       Ab Bb
To me, they're both the same
Cm
Sweat drippin' down to the floor

Bite marks like an animal
Ab
You might be insane
    Fm    Gm        Ab Bb
But maybe we're the same

  Cm
Tonight you came here
           Ab
'Cause you know what I need
           Fm       Ab Bb
And no one likes to be alone

Cm
I don't need a future, I don't need your past
Ab
I just need a lover
   Fm             Gm            Ab           Bb
So give me what I want, or I'll give it to my—
Cm
 Self inflicted torture
                       Ab
You don't have to ask, I just need a lover
   Fm             Gm            Ab           Bb
So give me what I want, or I'll give it to my self—

Cm
I can tell that you're new to this

Slow it down, but you can't resist
 Ab
Beat your fantasy
Fm       Gm      Ab Bb
Give yourself to me

  Cm
Tonight you came here
           Ab
'Cause you know what I need
           Fm       Ab Bb
And no one likes to be alone

Cm
I don't need a future, I don't need your past
Ab
I just need a lover
   Fm             Gm            Ab           Bb
So give me what I want, or I'll give it to my—
Cm
 Self inflicted torture
                       Ab
You don't have to ask, I just need a lover
   Fm             Gm            Ab           Bb
So give me what I want, or I'll give it to my self—

Cm          Bb
 Give it to me, babe
           Cm
Give it to me, babe

Give it to me and nobody else, babe
           Bb
Give it to me, babe 
           Ab
Give it to me, babe 
Fm                Gm               Cm
Give it to me and nobody else, babe

Bb                                    Cm
Give me what I want 
Bb                           Ab           
Give me what I want, or I'll give it to myself

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - Gimme What I Want Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – Gimme What I Want: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cm and ends on Ab. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C minor side because it opens on Cm and Cm is heard 14 times while Eb never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb 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 Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	—
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	11×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	9×
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	22×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	14×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	14×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	14×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	—
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	11×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	9×
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	22×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	14×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 5 different chords appear 70 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

Bb Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×12
Ab Bb EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×10
Gm Cm Ebiii → vi Cmv → inatural-minor cadence ×1

The move to watch is Bb → Cm, heard 12 times. From the Cm side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home); from the Eb side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected Eb, lands on Cm). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones up
3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Cm lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Ab, Cm, Bb, Fm — IV–vi–V–ii from the Eb side, VI–i–VII–iv from the Cm side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Bb → Cm (V → vi in Eb, VII → i in Cm): Aeolian arrival — rises a whole tone into home. Ending on Ab, the song seals Eb as home.

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.