Rihanna - Only girl (In the world) - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords C, G, Am, F, Em, C/B, D Easy key E (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Em
La la la la

              C       C/B Em                     C  C/B Em
I want you to love me,       like I'm a hot pie
              C       C/B Em                     C  D  Am
Keep thinkin' of me,          doin' what you like
          C             C/B            Em                  C       C/B  Em
So boy forget about the world cuz it's gon' be me and you tonight,     yeah
        C             C/B          Em                          C     D  Am
I wanna make your beg for ya, then Im'ma make you swallow your pride,   oh

            F                              G           Am
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
                           C           F
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
                          G          Am
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
     C           F
Only girl in the world
                             G     Am
Like I'm the only one that's in command
                           C    F
Cause I'm the only one who understands
                            G    D    F
How to make you feel like a man, yeah
            F                              G           Am
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
                           C           F
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
                          G          D      F
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart, only one

            C       C/B Em                       C     C/B Em
Want you to take me,         like a thief in the night
               C       C/B Em                      C  D  Am
Hold me like a pillow,          make me feel right
          C               C/B              Em                      C     C/B Em
Baby I'll tell you all my secrets that I'm keepin', you can come inside
             C                C/B            Em               C      D  Am
And when you enter, you ain't leavin', be my prisoner for the night,    oh

            F                              G           Am
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
                           C           F
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
                          G          Am
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
     C           F
Only girl in the world
                             G     Am
Like I'm the only one that's in command
                           C    F
Cause I'm the only one who understands
                          G          D      F
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart, only one

C       G     Am             C     G       Am
Take me for a ride, ride, oh baby, take me high, high
C      G        Am        C       G        Am
Let me make you first, oh make it last all night
C       G     Am             C     G       Am
Take me for a ride, ride, oh baby, take me high, high
C      G        Am        C       G        Am
Let me make you first, oh make it last all night

            F                              G           Am
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
                           C           F
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
                          G          Am
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
     C           F
Only girl in the world
                             G     Am
Like I'm the only one that's in command
                           C    F
Cause I'm the only one who understands
                     G      D    F
How to make you feel like a man, Only girl in the world
     G      Am
Girl in the world
     C           F
Only girl in the world
     G      D      F
Girl in the world

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Only girl (In the world) Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Only girl (In the world): key and chord analysis

The song opens on Em and ends on F. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (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 A major and F# 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 A or to F#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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	—
i	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	23×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
bIII	C	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	35×
bIII	C/B	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	12×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
III	C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	9×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
v	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	13×
bVI	F	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · A · C	20×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
bVII	G	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	24×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
bII	G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	24×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	—
iii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	23×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
#IV	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	35×
#IV	C/B	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	12×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	9×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—
vii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	13×
#VII	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	20×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 7 different chords appear 136 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C, G, F, C/B 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

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

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Em lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are C, G, Am, F; read them as bIII–bVII–i–bVI in A or #IV–bII–iii–#VII in F#m. C briefly darkens the picture: borrowed from the parallel minor. It closes on F, letting the A 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.