Bruno Mars - Runaway Baby - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Eb5, Ab5, B5, Bb5 Easy key A (capo 6)

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Capo 0

             Eb5
Well look at here, look at here
   Ab5
Ah what do we have
   Eb5                  Ab5
Another pretty thang here for me to grab
     Eb5
But little does she know
           Ab5
That I'm a wolf in sheepsclothing
            Eb5
'Cause at the end of the night
    Ab5
It is her I'll be holding

  Eb5
I love you so
     Ab5
That's what you'll say

You'll tell me
Eb5                       Ab5
Baby, baby, please don't go away
         Eb5           Ab5
But when I play, I never stay
         Eb5
To every girl that I meet

This is what I say:

B5             Bb5
Run run runaway, runaway baby
Eb5                    Ab5
Before I put my spell on you
           B5             Bb5
You better get get getaway, getaway darling
       Eb5                    Ab5
'Cause everything you heard is true
                 B5               Bb5
Your poor little heart will end up alone
            Eb5                Ab5
'Cause what knows I'm a rolling stone
              B5             Bb5
So you better run run runaway, runaway baby

Uh, ahh yeah
            Eb5
Well let me think, let me think
   Ab5
Ah what should I do
        Eb5
So many eager young bunny's
         Ab5
That I'd like to persue
    Eb5                        Ab5
Now even now they eating out the palm of my hand
        Eb5                    Ab5
There's only one carrot and they all gotta share it

         Eb5
I love you so
                   Ab5
That's what you'll say

You'll tell me
Eb5                       Ab5
Baby, baby, please don't go away
         Eb5           Ab5
But when I play, I never stay
         Eb5
To every girl that I meet

This is what I say:

B5             Bb5
Run run runaway, runaway baby
Eb5                    Ab5
Before I put my spell on you
           B5             Bb5
You better get get getaway, getaway darling
       Eb5                    Ab5
'Cause everything you heard is true
                 B5               Bb5
Your poor little heart will end up alone
            Eb5                Ab5
'Cause what knows I'm a rolling stone
              B5             Bb5
So you better run run runaway, runaway baby

See I ain't try to hurt you baby
No, no, I just wanna work you baby
Yup yup
See I ain't try to hurt you baby
No, no, I just wanna work you baby
If you scared you better run 
You better run 
You better run 
You better, you better, you better

B5             Bb5
Run run runaway, runaway baby
Eb5                    Ab5
Before I put my spell on you
           B5             Bb5
You better get get getaway, getaway darling
       Eb5                    Ab5
'Cause everything you heard is true
                 B5               Bb5
Your poor little heart will end up alone
            Eb5                Ab5
'Cause what knows I'm a rolling stone
              B5             Bb5
So you better run run runaway, runaway baby

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Runaway Baby Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Runaway Baby: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Eb5 and ends on Bb5. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Ab (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Ab (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Bb (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the Eb major side because it opens on Eb and Eb is heard 25 times while Cm never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb5	Tonic — home	Eb · Bb	25×
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	—
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
III	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab5	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · Eb	23×
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	—
V	Bb5	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · F	12×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	—
bVI	B5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · F#	12×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	—
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	—
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb5	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · Bb	25×
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	—
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	—
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab5	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · Eb	23×
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	—
VII	Bb5	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · F	12×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	—
#VII	B5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · F#	12×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 4 different chords appear 72 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. B5 step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

Ab5 Eb5 EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×14

The move to watch is Ab5 → Eb5, heard 14 times. From the Eb side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Cm side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

Eb major pentatonic and C minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Eb – F – G – Bb – C): start from Eb for a brighter phrase, from C for a bluesier one.
Over Eb5, land on Eb, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Ab5, land on Ab, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over B5, land on B, F# — 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 Eb major shapes

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

6 semitones up · capo 6 keeps the original pitch
1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Eb5, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Eb5, Ab5, B5, Bb5 carry the song: I–IV–bVI–V relative to Eb, III–VI–#VII–VII relative to Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Ab5 → Eb5 (IV → I in Eb, VI → III in Cm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on Bb5, the song seals Eb 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.