Shawn Mendes - It'll Be Okay - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords C, D, G, G/B, G/D, Gmaj7, D2 Easy key A

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Capo 0

C             G
Are we gonna make it
               D
Is this gonna hurt
C                    G
Oh, we can try to sedate it
                D
But that never works

Yeah

    C                 G/B
I start to imagine a world
                   D
Where we don't collide
      C                         G/B
It's makin' me sick, but we'll heal
                  D
And the Sun will rise

                       C
If you tell me you're leaving
             G
I'll make it easy
         D
It'll be okay
                       C
If we can't stop the bleeding
                  G
We don't have to fix it
                   D
We don't have to stay

                        C
I will love you either way
    G                        D
Ooh,  ooh, it'll be oh, be okay

Ooh, ooh

C                   G/D
Oh, the future we dreamed
                  D
Of is fading to black

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
C                         G
Oh, thеre's nothin' more painful
              D
Nothin' more painful

    C                 G/B
I start to imagine a world
                   D
Where we don't collide
      C                         G/B
It's makin' me sick, but we'll heal
                  D
And the Sun will rise

                       C
If you tell me you're leaving
             G
I'll make it easy
         D
It'll be okay
                       C
If we can't stop the bleeding
                  G
We don't have to fix it
                   D
We don't have to stay

                        C
I will love you either way
    G                        D
Ooh,  ooh, it'll be oh, be okay

Ooh, ooh

                        C
I will love you either way
                  G
It might be so sweet
                   D
It might be so bitter
                        C
I will love you either way
                  G/B 
It might be so sweet
                   D
It might be so bitter 

C                         Gmaj7
Oh, if the future we've dreamed of is
            D2
Fading to black
                        C  G  D 
I will love you either way

End of song Play again?

Shawn Mendes - It'll Be Okay Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Shawn Mendes – It'll Be Okay: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on D. 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 G is heard 18 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	11×
I	G/B	Tonic — home	G · B · D	5×
I	G/D	Tonic — home	G · B · D	1×
Imaj7	Gmaj7	Tonic — home	G · B · D · F#	1×
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#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	18×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	17×
Vsus2	D2	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · E · A	1×
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	11×
III	G/B	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	5×
III	G/D	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	1×
IIImaj7	Gmaj7	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D · F#	1×
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#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	18×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	17×
VIIsus2	D2	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · E · A	1×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 7 different chords appear 54 times in total; 7 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

C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×11
C G/B GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×5
C G/D GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×1
C Gmaj7 GIV → Imaj7plagal cadence EmVI → IIImaj7 ×1

The move to watch is C → G, heard 11 times. From the G side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Em side it is VI → 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 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.
Over G, land on G, B, D — 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

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is C, D, G, G/B — IV–V–I–I from the G side, VI–VII–III–III from the Em side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C → G (IV → I in G, VI → III in Em): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on D, 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.