Rihanna - Kiss it Better - Chord

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

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Capo 0

F  Am  G

C/E
  Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F Am G
C/E
  Kiss it, kiss it better baby

     F
Been waiting on that sunshine 
    Am
Boy I think I need that back
G
  Can't do it like that
C/E
  No one else gonna get it like that
    F             Am
So I argue, you yell, had to take me back
    G
Who cares when it feels like crack
C/E
  Boy you know that you always do it right
F                           Am
  Man fuck your pride, just take it on back boy
                    G
Take it on back boy, take it back all night
  C/E
Just take it on back, take it on back
F                        Am
  Mmm, do what you gotta do, keep me up all night
G                                        C/E
Hurting bad man, and it hurts inside when I look you in your eye

F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby

     F
Been waiting on that sunshine 
    Am
Boy I think I need that back
G
  Can't do it like that
C/E
  No one else gonna get it like that
    F             Am
So I argue, you yell, had to take me back
    G
Who cares when it feels like crack
C/E
  Boy you know that you always do it right
F                           Am
  Man fuck your pride, just take it on back boy
                    G
Take it on back boy, take it back all night
  C/E
Just take it on back, take it on back
F                        Am
  Mmm, do what you gotta do, keep me up all night
G                                        C/E
Hurting bad man, and it hurts inside when I look you in your eye

F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby

          F                    Am
I've been waiting up all night
Baby tell me what's wrong
G
Go on and make it right
C/E
Make it all night long
          F                    Am
I've been waiting up all night
Baby tell me what's wrong
G
Go on and make it right
C/E
Make it all night long
F                           Am
  Man fuck your pride, just take it on back boy
                    G
Take it on back boy, take it back all night
  C/E
Just take it on back, take it on back
F                        Am
  Mmm, do what you gotta do, keep me up all night
G                                        C/E
Hurting bad man, and it hurts inside when I look you in your eye

F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby
F                         Am
  What are you willing to do
   G                              C/E
Oh tell me what you're willing to do
Kiss it, kiss it better baby

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Kiss it Better Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Kiss it Better: key and chord analysis

The song opens on F and ends on C/E. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C major side because it comes to rest on C. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from A minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; 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 C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C/E	Tonic — home	C · E · G	22×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	22×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	22×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	22×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	22×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C/E	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	22×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	22×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	22×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 4 different chords appear 88 times in total; 4 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

G C/E CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×22
F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×22

The move to watch is G → C/E, heard 22 times. From the C side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Am side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
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.
Over G, land on G, B, D — 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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on F, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is F, Am, G, C/E — IV–vi–V–I from the C side, VI–i–VII–III from the Am side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on G → C/E (V → I in C, VII → III in Am): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. Ending on C/E, the song seals C 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.