Bruno Mars - It Will Rain - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords A, Gbm, Em, Bm, D, G, Gb Easy key C (capo 2)

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Capo 0

D                      Gbm
If you ever leave me, baby
 D                         Gbm
Leave some morphine at my door
Em                                        Bm
  Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
 Em
To realize what we used to have
          A
We don't have it anymore

  D                             Gbm
There's no religion that could save me
 D                                       Gbm
No matter how long my knees are on the floor
 Em                                     Bm
So keep in mind all the sacrifices I'm makin
 Em
Will keep you by my side
                   A
And keep you from walkin' out the door

    G              A
Cause there'll be no sunlight
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
  G              A
There'll be no clear skies
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
 G              A
Just like the clouds
 Gb               Bm     A          Em
My eyes will do the same  if you walk away
                   A
Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain

D  Gbm

D                            Gbm
I'll never be your mother's favorite
 D                                   Gbm
Your daddy can't even look me in the eye
     Em                                      Bm
Oooh if I was in their shoes, I'd be doing the same thing
 Em
Sayin' there goes my little girl
               A
Walkin' with that troublesome guy

 D                                              Gbm
But they're just afraid of something they can't understand
      D                                   Gbm
Oooh but little darlin' watch me change their minds
            Em                            Bm
Yea for you I'll try, I'll try, I'll try, I'll try
                     Em
I'll pick up these broken pieces 'till I'm bleeding
A
If that'll make you mine

 G                 A
Cause there'll be no sunlight
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
  G               A
There'll be no clear skies
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
 G              A
Just like the clouds
     Gb              Bm   A        Em
My eyes will do the same   if you walk away
                   A
Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain

D  Gbm

            Em       Gbm
Don't just say, goodbye
            Em       Gbm
Don't just say, goodbye
                     G
I'll pick up these broken pieces 'till I'm bleeding
A
If that'll make you right

    G              A
Cause there'll be no sunlight
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
G                A
And there'll be no clear skies
Gbm             Bm  A
If I lose you, baby
G               A
And just like the clouds
 Gb               Bm      A         Em
My eyes will do the same   if you walk away
                   A
Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - It Will Rain Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – It Will Rain: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on A. 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)
#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 B minor side because it opens on D, Bm is heard 13 times against 10 for D and the major V chord points straight at Bm. 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	10×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	13×
iii	Gbm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Gb · A · Db	18×
V/vi	Gb	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	3×
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	10×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	26×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	13×
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#	13×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	10×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	13×
v	Gbm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Gb · A · Db	18×
V	Gb	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Gb · Bb · Db	3×
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	10×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	26×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 93 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Bm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from D, the same Gb is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Bm.

Chord movement

G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×10
Em A Dii → Vii → V Bmiv → VII ×7
Gbm Bm Diii → vi Bmv → inatural-minor cadence ×6
A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×4
Em Bm Dii → vi Bmiv → iminor plagal ×4
Gb Bm DV/vi → vi BmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×3

The move to watch is G → A, heard 10 times. From the Bm side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the D side it reads IV → 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 A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gbm, land on Gb, A, Db — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Em, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When Gb comes, swap the scale's A 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 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

Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. A, Gbm, Em, Bm carry the song: V–iii–ii–vi relative to D, VII–v–iv–i relative to Bm. Gb is the interesting twist: in D it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Bm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on G → A (IV → V in D, VI → VII in Bm): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. Ending on A, the song seals D 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.