Bruno Mars - Count On Me - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords G, Em, F, C, Am, Dm, Am7 Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

       C                                             Em
If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea
      Am           G    F
I'll sail the world to find you
       C                                                 Em
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see
     Am         G     F
I'll be the light to guide you

Dm                     Em
We find out what we're made of
      F                                    G
When we are called to help our friends in need

         C                Em
You can count on me like one, two, three
     Am      G
I'll be there
    F
And I know when I need it
       C                 Em
I can count on you like four, three, two
           Am      G
And you'll be there
       F
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do
    C
Oh yeah
                Em
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
                Am   G
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
 F    G
Yeah yeah

        C                                                     Em
If you're tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep
      Am7      G    F
I'll sing a song beside you
           C                                       Em
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
      Am      G    F
Everyday I will remind you, 

Dm                     Em
We find out what we're made of
      F                                    G
When we are called to help our friends in need

         C               Em
You can count on me like one, two, three
     Am      G
I'll be there
    F
And I know when I need it
       C                 Em
I can count on you like four, three, two
           Am7     G
And you'll be there
       F
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do
    C
Oh yeah
                Em
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
                Am  G
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
F     G
Yeah yeah

       Dm               Em              Am  G
You'll always have my shoulder when you cry
      Dm            Em            F  G
I'll never let go, never say good bye

         C               Em
You know you can count on me like one, two, three
     Am      G
I'll be there
    F
And I know when I need it
       C                 Em
I can count on you like four, three, two
           Am      G
And you'll be there
       F
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do
    C
Oh yeah
                Em
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
                Am  G
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

 F                                       C
You can count on me cuz I can count on you

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Count On Me Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Count On Me: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C 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 both starts and finishes on C. 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	14×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	4×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	17×
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	16×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	19×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	12×
vi7	Am7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E · G	2×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	12×
i7	Am7	Tonic — home	A · C · E · G	2×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	14×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	4×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	17×
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	16×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	19×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 7 different chords appear 84 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

Em Am Ciii → vi Amv → inatural-minor cadence ×12
F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×9
F G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×5
G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×4
Em Am7 Ciii → vi7 Amv → i7natural-minor cadence ×2

The move to watch is Em → Am, heard 12 times. From the C side it reads iii → vi; from the Am side it is v → i (natural-minor cadence: gentle, modal arrival). 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 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.
Over F, land on F, A, C — 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 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

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are G, Em, F, C; read them as V–iii–IV–I in C or VII–v–VI–III in Am. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Em → Am (iii → vi in C, v → i in Am): natural-minor cadence — gentle, modal arrival. 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.