Beyonce - If I Were a Boy - Chord

Key Gb major – Eb minor Chords B, Db, Ebm, Gb, Abm7, Abm Easy key G

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Capo 0

               Ebm  B  Gb
If I were a boy
     Db            Ebm  B  Gb
Even just for a day
Db              Ebm        B
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
    Gb              Db          Ebm  B  Gb
And throw on what I wanted and go
      Db              Ebm  B    Gb
Drink beer with the guys
    Db               Ebm  B  Gb  Db
And chase after girls
         Ebm           B
I'd kick it with who I wanted
        Gb            Db
And I'd never get confronted for it
Ebm             B              Gb
  'Cause they'd stick up for me
 
   Db         Ebm  B    Gb
If I were a boy
          Db            Ebm  B    Gb  Db
I think I could understand
       Ebm             B
How it feels to love a girl
  Gb             Db         Ebm  B  Gb
I swear I'd be a better man
    Db          Ebm  B    Gb
I'd listen to her
        Db             Ebm  B  Gb  Db
Cause I know how it hurts
         Ebm              B
When you lose the one you wanted
           Gb            Db
Cause he's taken you for granted
    B
And everything you had got destroyed
 
               Ebm  B    Gb
If I were a boy
        Db             Ebm  B  Gb  Db
I would turn off my phone
     Ebm           B
Tell everyone it's broken
        Gb               Db          Ebm  B  Gb
So they think that I was sleeping alone
    Db            Ebm   B    Gb
I'd put myself first
             Db         Ebm  B    Gb   Db
And make the rules as I go
        Ebm             B
Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Gb           Db         Ebm  B    Gb
Waiting for me to come home
 
   Db         Ebm  B    Gb
If I were a boy
          Db           Ebm  B  Gb  Db
I think I could understand
       Ebm             B
How it feels to love a girl
  Gb             Db         Ebm  B    Gb
I swear I'd be a better man
    Db          Ebm  B    Gb
I'd listen to her
        Db             Ebm  B    Gb  Db
Cause I know how it hurts
         Ebm              B
When you lose the one you wanted
           Gb            Db
Cause he's taken you for granted
    B                           Abm7
And everything you had got destroyed
 
 Abm7      B            Gb       Db        Abm
    It's a little too late for you to come back
         B         Ebm
Say it's just a mistake
           Db            Abm
Think I forgive you like that
          B              Ebm        Db
If you thought I would wait for you
            B
You thought wrong
 
                  Ebm  B    Gb
But you're just a boy
          Db      Ebm         B          Gb    Db
You don't understand (yea you don't understand)
         Ebm             B
How it feels to love a girl, someday you'll
Gb             Db                Ebm  B   Gb
Wish you were a.. better man
            Db       Ebm  B   Gb
You don't listen to her
          Db            Ebm  B   Gb
You don't care how it hurts
Db          Ebm            B
  Until you lose the one you wanted
                Gb                Db
Cause you've taken her for granted
    B
And everything you had got destroyed
                     Ebm  B  Gb  Db
But you're just a boy

End of song Play again?

Beyonce - If I Were a Boy Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Beyonce – If I Were a Boy: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Ebm and ends on Db. Its chords belong to both Gb major and Ebm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Gb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

Eb minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Cb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Db (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the Eb minor side because it opens on Ebm and Ebm is heard 40 times against 39 for Gb. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Gb 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 Gb or to Ebm; 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 Gb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Gb	Tonic — home	Gb · Bb · Db	39×
ii7	Abm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Ab · Cb · Eb · Gb	2×
ii	Abm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Ab · Cb · Eb	2×
iii	Bbm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Bb · Db · F	—
V/vi	Bb	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Ebmsecondary dominant	Bb · D · F	—
IV	B	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D# · F#	45×
V	Db	Dominant — strongest pull home	Db · F · Ab	41×
vi	Ebm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Eb · Gb · Bb	40×
vii°	Fdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F · Ab · Cb	—

Seen from Eb minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Ebm	Tonic — home	Eb · Gb · Bb	40×
ii°	Fdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · Cb	—
III	Gb	Relative major — the bright side	Gb · Bb · Db	39×
iv7	Abm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · Cb · Eb · Gb	2×
iv	Abm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · Cb · Eb	2×
v	Bbm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Bb · Db · F	—
V	Bb	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Bb · D · F	—
VI	B	Submediant — warm colour	B · D# · F#	45×
VII	Db	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Db · F · Ab	41×

Analysis

The key pair is Gb major and its relative Eb minor (6 flats). 6 different chords appear 169 times in total; 6 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

B Gb GbIV → Iplagal cadence EbmVI → III ×39
Db Ebm GbV → videceptive cadence EbmVII → iAeolian arrival ×34
B Ebm GbIV → vi EbmVI → iVI → i ×5

The move to watch is B → Gb, heard 39 times. From the Ebm side it is VI → III; from the Gb side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

Capo 2 + E shapes
Capo 4 + D shapes
Capo 6 + C shapes

With Eb minor shapes

Capo 1 + Dm shapes
Capo 6 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

1 semitone up
4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Ebm, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are B, Db, Ebm, Gb; read them as IV–V–vi–I in Gb or VI–VII–i–III in Ebm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on B → Gb (IV → I in Gb, VI → III in Ebm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is Db; the ear comes to rest in Gb.

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.