Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, G, F, Am, D7, Dm, Em, Fm … Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

D7  Dm  C  
D7  Dm  C  G B

Am               C                       Dm
Same bed, but it feels just a little bit bigger now
G               G7                  C              Em
Our song on the radio, but it don't sound the same
Am                    C                             Dm
When our friends talk about you all it does is just tear me down
G                                     C
Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name


   Em/B                 Am              Em 
It all just sounds like ooh, ooh, oooh, oooh
Bb                             C G  
Mmm too young, too dumb to realize


     G                      F      G              C
That I should've bought you flowers and held your hand
                        F    G          C
Shoulda gave you all my hours when I had the chance
                  F                   G                Am    
Take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance
D7            F                  Fm                   C     F C   Em
Now my baby's dancing, but she's dancing with another man


Am           C                    Dm
My pride, my ego, my needs and my selfish ways
G                    G7                     C           Em
Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life
         Am     C                         Dm
Now I'll never, never get to clean up the mess I made ooh
G                                    C
And that haunts me every time I close my eyes


   Em B                 Am              Em 
It all just sounds like ooh, ooh, oooh, oooh
Bb                             C G  
Mmm too young, too dumb to realize


     G                      F      G              C
That I should've bought you flowers and held your hand
                        F    G          C
Shoulda gave you all my hours when I had the chance
                  F                   G                Am    
Take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance
D7            F                  Fm                   C    
Now my baby's dancing, but she's dancing with another man


            F                 G                       C G Am Em
Although it hurts I'll be the first to say that I was wrong
      D7
Oh, I know I'm probably much too late
           Dm
To try and apologize for my mistakes
           G
But I just want you to know

 
                   F      G                      C
I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds your hand
                 F    G           C
Give you all his hours when he has the chance
                  F             G                     Am    
Take you to every party cause I remember how much you love to dance
D7                  F             Fm               C                
Do all the things I should've done when I was your man
D7                  F             Fm               C
Do all the things I should've done when I was your man

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – When I Was Your Man: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D7 and ends on C. 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 and C is heard 24 times against 10 for Am. 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	Tonic — home	C · E · G	24×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	7×
V7/V	D7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Gsecondary dominant	D · F# · A · C	7×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	7×
iii	Em/B	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	1×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	15×
iv	Fm	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	F · Ab · C	4×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	21×
V7	G7	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D · F	2×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	10×
bVII	Bb	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Bb · D · F	2×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—
V/iii	B	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	2×

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	10×
bII	Bb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	2×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
V/v	B	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	2×
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	24×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	7×
IV7	D7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	D · F# · A · C	7×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	7×
v	Em/B	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	1×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	15×
vi	Fm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · Ab · C	4×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	21×
VII7	G7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D · F	2×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 12 different chords appear 102 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. D7, B act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Fm, Bb are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

F G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×10
G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×9
Dm G Cii → Vii → V Amiv → VII ×5
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×4
Fm C Civ → Iminor plagal Amvi → III ×4
Em Am Ciii → vi Amv → inatural-minor cadence ×3

The move to watch is F → G, heard 10 times. From the C side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Am side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic). 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 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 F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Fm, follow the chord's notes (F · Ab · 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 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

The first chord is D7; the ear learns where home is within a second. C, G, F, Am carry the song: I–V–IV–vi relative to C, III–VII–VI–i relative to Am. D7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to G. Keep an ear on F → G (IV → V in C, VI → VII in Am): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. Ending on C, 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.