Justin Bieber - One Time - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords G, C9 Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G
When i met you girl my heart went knock knock
C9
Now them butterflies in my stomach wont stop stop
G
And even though its a struggle love is all we got
C9
So we gonna keep keep climbing till the mountain top

G                  C9
Your world is my world
                       G
And my fight is your fight
                    C9
My breath is your breath
         C9
And your heart and now i've got

G
One love
G
My one heart
C9
My one life for sure
                      G
Let me tell you one time
                    C9
I'ma tell you one time.  ill be your

G
One guy you'll be my number one girl
C9
Makin time for you
                     G
Let me tell you one time
                    C9
I'ma tell you one time
G
You look so deep you know that it humbles me
C9
You're by my side and troubles them dont trouble me
G
Many have called but the chosen is you
C9
Whatever you want shawty i'll give it to you
G                   C9
Your world is my world
                      G
And my fight is your fight
                     C9
My breath is your breath
                        G   C9
And your heart and now i'veee
                     G
Let me tell you one time
                   C9
I'ma tell you one time

Now i'll be your
G
One guy, number one girl
C9
Makin time for you ahh
G
Girl i love, girl i love you
C9
Girl i love, girl i love you
G
Shawty is right there
                         C9
She's got everything i need and i'ma tell her one time
G                        C9
Give you everything you need

Down to my last dime
G
She makes me happy
C9
I know where i'll be
G                        C9                  G     C9
Right by your side cause she is the one for me yeah
G
Girl i love, girl i love you
C9                           G C9 G
Girl i love, girl i love you.

End of song Play again?

Justin Bieber - One Time Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Justin Bieber – One Time: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on G. 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 both starts and finishes on G and G is heard 25 times while Em never appears. 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	25×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
III	B	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D# · F#	—
IV7	C9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb · D	24×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	—
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	—
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	—
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	25×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
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#	—
VI7	C9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb · D	24×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	—

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 2 different chords appear 49 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C9 step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

C9 G GIV7 → Iplagal cadence EmVI7 → III ×23

The move to watch is C9 → G, heard 23 times. From the G side it reads IV7 → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Em side it is VI7 → III. 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 C9, land on C, E, G — 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 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 opening G lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are G, C9; read them as I–IV7 in G or III–VI7 in Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C9 → G (IV7 → I in G, VI7 → III in Em): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on G, 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.