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)
Shawn Mendes - Bad Reputation - Chord
Key D major – B minor Chords E, F, Am, C Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: D | Bm
Capo: 0
C E Am
She got a bad reputation
Am F C E
She takes the long way home
C E Am
And all of my friends've seen her naked
Am F C E
Or so the story goes
C E Am
Mistakes we all make them
Am F C E
But they won't let it go, no
C E Am
Cause she's got a bad reputation
Am F C E
But I know what they don't, no
F E Am
I don't care what they say about you, baby
F E Am
They don't know what you've been through
F E Am
Trust me I could be the one to treat you like a lady
F
Let me see what's underneath
E
All I need is you
C E Am
She got a bad reputation
Am F C E
Nobody gets too close
C E Am
A sight of a soul when it's breaking
Am F C E
Making my heart grow cold
C E Am
And into the deeper she's sinking
Am F C E
I'm begging her please don't let go
C E Am
She's got a bad reputation
F
But she's all that
C E
All I want though, hmm yeah
F E Am
I don't care what they say about you, baby
F E Am
They don't know what you've been through
F E Am
Trust me I could be the one to treat you like a lady
F
Let me see what's underneath
E
All I need is you
F E
Ah, ah, ah, ooh
F E
Ah, ah, ah, ooh
F E
Nobody knows the way that I, I know her
F E
Said nobody knows the weight that's on her shoulders
F E
Said nobody knows the way that I, I know her
F E
Said she got a bad, she got a bad
F E
Nobody knows the way that I, I know her
F E
Said nobody knows the weight that's on her shoulders
F E
Said nobody knows the way that I, I know her
F E
Said she got a bad, she got a bad
F E Am
And I don't care what they say about you, baby
F E Am
They don't know what you've been through
F E Am
Trust me I could be the one to treat you like a lady
F
Let me see what's underneath
E
All I need is you
F E Am
I don't care what they say about you, baby
F E Am
They don't know what you've been through
F E Am
Trust me I could be the one to treat you like a lady
F
Let me see what's underneath
E
All I need is you
C E Am
She got a bad reputation
Am F C E
She takes the long way home
End of song Play again?
Shawn Mendes - Bad Reputation Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Shawn Mendes – Bad Reputation: key and chord analysis
The song opens on C and ends on E. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.
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: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between D major and B minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.
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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | D | Tonic — home | D · F# · A | — |
| ii | Em | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · B | — |
| V/V | E | Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant | E · G# · B | 44× |
| bIII | F | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | F · A · C | 35× |
| iii | F#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | F# · A · C# | — |
| III | F# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | F# · A# · C# | — |
| IV | G | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · B · D | — |
| V | A | Dominant — strongest pull home | A · C# · E | — |
| v | Am | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E | 29× |
| vi | Bm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | B · D · F# | — |
| bVII | C | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | C · E · G | 18× |
| vii° | C#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | C# · E · G | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | Tonic — home | B · D · F# | — |
| bII | C | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | C · E · G | 18× |
| 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 | — |
| IV | E | Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour | E · G# · B | 44× |
| #IV | F | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | F · A · C | 35× |
| v | F#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | F# · A · C# | — |
| V | F# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | F# · A# · C# | — |
| VI | G | Submediant — warm colour | G · B · D | — |
| VII | A | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | A · C# · E | — |
| vii | Am | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E | 29× |
Analysis
The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 4 different chords appear 126 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. F, C are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.
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 E, land on E, G#, B — 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 Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On F, follow the chord's notes (F · A · C) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.
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
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
Starting on C, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are E, F, Am, C; read them as V/V–bIII–v–bVII in D or IV–#IV–vii–bII in Bm. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to A. It closes on E, letting the D side have the last word.
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.
Shawn Mendes - Bad Reputation 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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