Rihanna - Love On The Brain - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords G, D, Am, Em, F, C Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G  Am  Em  D

                    G
And you got me like, oh
         Am
What you want from me
  Em                                               D
I tried to buy your pretty heart, but the price too high
                     G
Baby you got me like oh
                Am
You love when I fall apart 
           Em
So you can put me together
                        D
And throw me against the wall
                     G        Am
Baby you got me like ah, woo, ah
               Em
Don't you stop loving me 
Don't quit loving me 
          D
Just start loving it babe 

        F                           C
Oh, and baby I'm fist fighting with fire
            G
Just to get close to you
Can we burn something babe
F               C                   D
  And I run for miles just to get a taste

                    G
Must be love on the brain
              Am
That's got me feeling this way
         Em
It beats me black and blue but it fucks me so good
      D
And I can't get enough
                    G
Must be love on the brain yeah
             Am
And it keeps cursing my name
      Em
No matter what I do
I'm no good without you
      D
And I can't get enough
                      G
Must be love on the brain

           Am
Then you keep loving me
Just love me, yeah
Em
  Just love me
                     D
All you need to do is love me yeah
            G
Got me like ah ah ah ow
                  Am
I'm tired of being played like a violin
          Em                                    D
What do I gotta do to get in your motherfuckin' heart
          G        Am
Baby like ah, woo, ah
               Em
Don't you stop loving me 
Don't quit loving me 
          D
Just start loving me 

        F                           C
Oh, and baby I'm fist fighting with fire
            G
Just to get close to you
Can we burn something babe
F               C                   D
  And I run for miles just to get a taste

                    G
Must be love on the brain
              Am
That's got me feeling this way
         Em
It beats me black and blue but it fucks me so good
      D
And I can't get enough
                    G
Must be love on the brain yeah
             Am
And it keeps cursing my name
      Em
No matter what I do
I'm no good without you
      D
And I can't get enough

Must be love on the brain

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Love On The Brain Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Love On The Brain: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on D. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the G major side because it opens on G and G is heard 13 times against 11 for Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; 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 G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	13×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	11×
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	4×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	13×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	11×
bVII	F	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	F · A · C	4×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	11×
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	4×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	13×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	11×
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	4×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	13×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 6 different chords appear 56 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. F is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

Am Em Gii → vi Emiv → iminor plagal ×11
D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×10
C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×2
C D GIV → VIV → V EmVI → VIIVI → VII ×2

The move to watch is Am → Em, heard 11 times. From the G side it reads ii → vi; from the Em side it is iv → i (minor plagal: deep and melancholic). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is G; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is G, D, Am, Em — I–V–ii–vi from the G side, III–VII–iv–i from the Em side. F briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on Am → Em (ii → vi in G, iv → i in Em): minor plagal — deep and melancholic. It closes on D, letting the G 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.