Miley Cyrus - I Thought I Lost You - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords D, G, Em, A, Bm Easy key G (capo 7)

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Capo 0

D       G             D              G               D
Nobody listens to me, dont hear a single thing I've said 
D        G             D                  G             D
Say anything to soothe me, anything to get you from my head 
D                 G
Don't know how really I feel, 
D                            G                  D
Cause it's the faith that makes  like I don't care 
D              G                  D              G
Dont know how much it hurts to turn around like you were never there 
Em                            G
Like somehow you could be replaced 
Em                                G
and I could walk away from the promises we made 
G
And swore we'd never break! 

D             Em                 G                  A
I thought I lost you when you ran away to try to find me 
D             Em           G              A
I thought Id never your sweet face again. 
D             Em               G                 A
I turned around and you were gone and on and on the days went 
Bm                          G        D
but I kept the moments that we were in 
Bm                                        A            D
'Cause I hoped in my heart, you'd come back to me my friend 
          Em       G A
And now I got you, 
                    D
but I thought I lost you! 

D           G              D               G             D
I felt so empty out there, and there were days I had my doubts 
D                G             D
but I knew I'd find you somewhere 
D              G
because I knew I couldn't live without 
Em                            G
you in my life for one more day 
Em                                 G
and I swore I'd never break the promises we made 

D             Em                 G                  A
I thought I lost you when you ran away to try to find me 
D             Em           G              A
I thought Id never your sweet face again. 
D             Em               G                 A
I turned around and you were gone and on and on the days went 
Bm                          G        D
but I kept the moments that we were in 
Bm                                        A            D
'Cause I hoped in my heart, you'd come back to me my friend 
          Em       G A
And now I got you, 
                    D
but I thought I lost you! 

    Bm               A  D                                Em        Em      Em
I told myself I wouldnt sleep 'til I searched the world from sea to sea 
MILEY 
    Bm                A            D   Em
I made a wish upon a star, I turned around and there you were 
MILEY AND TRAVOLTA 
        Em             A
And now here we are, are 

here we are 
D
I thought I lost you 

     G
I thought I lost you too 

D
I thought I lost you 

     G
I thought I lost you 

yeah

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - I Thought I Lost You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – I Thought I Lost You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on G. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

D major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

B minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

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

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D major side because it opens on D and D is heard 33 times against 6 for Bm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from B minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to D or to Bm; 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 D major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	D	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	33×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	17×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
V/vi	F#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	29×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	13×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	6×
vii°	C#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C# · E · G	—

Seen from B minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bm	Tonic — home	B · D · F#	6×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	33×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	17×
v	F#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	F# · A · C#	—
V	F#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F# · A# · C#	—
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	29×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	13×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 5 different chords appear 98 times in total; 5 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 D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×15
A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×11
G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×8
A Bm DV → videceptive cadence BmVII → iAeolian arrival ×2
Em Bm Dii → vi Bmiv → iminor plagal ×1
Em A Dii → Vii → V Bmiv → VII ×1

The move to watch is G → D, heard 15 times. From the D side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Bm side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

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

No capo — open D shapes
Capo 2 + C shapes
Capo 5 + A shapes

With B minor shapes

Capo 2 + Am shapes
Capo 7 + Em shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. D, G, Em, A carry the song: I–IV–ii–V relative to D, III–VI–iv–VII relative to Bm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on G → D (IV → I in D, VI → III in Bm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on G, letting the D 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.