Sabrina Carpenter - Because I Liked a Boy - Chord

Key B major – G# minor Chords G, C, D, F, Em, Eb, Gb, D7 … Easy key C#

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Capo 0

G  Gb  C  D7

G                Gb
 I said I wanted thin mints
        C                   D
And you said you knew a guy
G                     Em
 You showed up with a boombox
    C             D
And stars in your eyes
G                     Em
 Who knew cuddling on trampolines
C            D
 Could be so reckless
G               Em
 We bonded over Black Eyed Peas
    C            D
And complicated exes
C
Fell so deeply into it
D
It was all so innocent

          G
Now I'm a homewrecker, I'm a slut
      F
I got death threats filling up semi trucks
C
Tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice
Eb
All because I liked
      G
I'm a hot topic on your tongue
      F
I'm a rebound gettin' round stealin' from the young
C
Tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice

All because I liked a boy

G
  Ooh, oh

G             Gb
 I'm not catastrophizing
C               D
 Everything's derailing
G               Em
 Was only tryna hold you close
C                     D
 While your heart was failing
G                      Em
 It's not "entered an illusion"
    C               D
Just two kids going through it
    G                            Em
You said I'm too late to be your first love
         C              D
But I'll always be your favorite

          G
Now I'm a homewrecker, I'm a slut
      F
I got death threats filling up semi trucks
C
Tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice
Eb
All because I liked
      G
I'm a hot topic on your tongue
      F
I'm a rebound gettin' round stealin' from the young
C
Tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice

All because I liked a boy

G  F    C
Ahh, ahh, ahh
Ebm
All because I liked a boy

G
Fell so deeply into it
F
It was all so innocent
C
Dating boys with exes
Eb
No, I wouldn't recommend it

G
I'm a homewrecker, I'm a slut
      F
I got death threats filling up semi trucks
C
Tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice
Eb                    G
All because I liked a boy

And all of this for what
     F
When everything went down

We'd already broken up
        C
Please, tell me who I am

Guess I don't have a choice
Eb
All because I liked a boy

G
Ah, ah 
F
Ahh, ahh 
C
Ah, ah
Eb
All because I liked a boy

End of song Play again?

Sabrina Carpenter - Because I Liked a Boy Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Sabrina Carpenter – Because I Liked a Boy: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on Eb. Its chords belong to both B major and G#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

B major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

G# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = E (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = F# (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the G# minor side because the major V chord points straight at G#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from B 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 B or to G#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 B major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	B	Tonic — home	B · D# · F#	—
bII	C	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	C · E · G	19×
ii	C#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G#	—
bIII	D	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	D · F# · A	9×
bIII7	D7	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	D · F# · A · C	1×
iii	Ebm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Eb · Gb · Bb	1×
III	Eb	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Eb · G · Bb	6×
IV	E	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G# · B	—
iv	Em	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	E · G · B	6×
#IV	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	9×
V	Gb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Gb · Bb · Db	3×
bVI	G	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	G · B · D	19×
vi	G#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	G# · B · D#	—
vii°	A#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	A# · C# · E	—

Seen from G# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	G#m	Tonic — home	G# · B · D#	—
ii°	A#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A# · C# · E	—
III	B	Relative major — the bright side	B · D# · F#	—
#III	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	19×
iv	C#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	C# · E · G#	—
#IV	D	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A	9×
#IV7	D7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	D · F# · A · C	1×
v	Ebm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Eb · Gb · Bb	1×
V	Eb	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Eb · G · Bb	6×
VI	E	Submediant — warm colour	E · G# · B	—
vi	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	6×
#VI	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	9×
VII	Gb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Gb · Bb · Db	3×
#VII	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	19×

Analysis

The key pair is B major and its relative G# minor (5 sharps). 9 different chords appear 73 times in total; 2 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of G#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull. G, C, D, Em, D7 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

D7 G BbIII7 → bVIsecondary resolution G#m#IV7 → #VII ×1

The move to watch is D7 → G, heard once. From the G#m side it is #IV7 → #VII; from the B side it reads bIII7 → bVI (secondary resolution: D7 resolves a fourth up to G). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

B major pentatonic and G# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (B – C# – D# – F# – G#): start from B for a brighter phrase, from G# for a bluesier one.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When Eb comes, swap the scale's F# for G: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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 B major shapes

Capo 2 + A shapes
Capo 4 + G shapes
Capo 7 + E shapes

With G# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Em shapes
Capo 6 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

2 semitones up
5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on G, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is G, C, D, F — bVI–bII–bIII–#IV from the B side, #VII–#III–#IV–#VI from the G#m side. Eb is the interesting twist: in B it is a chromatic chord (III), while in G#m it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on D7 → G (bIII7 → bVI in B, #IV7 → #VII in G#m): secondary resolution — D7 resolves a fourth up to G. The final chord is Eb; the ear comes to rest in B.

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.