Rihanna - FourFiveSeconds - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords D, D4, Bm, A, G, Gbm, Em Easy key C (capo 2)

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Capo 0

D              D4
 I think I've had enough
Bm                      A
 I might get a little drunk
D                 D4
  I'll say what's on my mind
Bm   A          D
  I might do a little time

                 D4
Cause all of my kindness
Bm                  A
  Is taken for weakness

         D                       D4
Now I'm four, five seconds from wildin'
              D                   D4
And we got three more days 'til Friday
           D
I'm just trying make it back home
    D4
By Monday, mornin'
    Bm
I swear I wish somebody would tell me
A
Ooh, that's all I want

D            D4
  Woke up an optimist
D                       D4
  Sun was shining, I'm positive
D                       D4
  Then I heard you was talkin' trash
D                    D4
  Hold me back, I'm bout' to spaz

                D
Yeah I'm 'bout four
                   D4
Five seconds from wildin'
              D                   D4
And we got three more days 'til Friday
           D
I'm tryna make it back home
    D4
By Monday, mornin'
    Bm
I swear I wish somebody would try me
A
Ooh, that's all I want

G         Gbm
  And I know that you're up tonight
     Em
Thinkin' how could I be so selfish
G         Gbm
  But you     called 'bout 
Em          Bm
A thousand times
A
  Wondering where I've been
G              Gbm
  Now I know that you're up tonight
          Em
Thinkin' how could I be so reckless
G     Gbm     Em         Bm
  But I just can't apologize
   A
I hope you can understand

Repete a Primeira Parte:

D             D4
  If I go to jail tonight
Bm                A
  Promise you'll pay my bail
D                    D4
  See, they want to buy my pride
Bm          A         D
  But that just ain't up for sale

               D4
See all of my kindness
Bm                  A
  Is taken for weakness

         D
Now I'm four
                   D4
Five seconds from wildin'
              D                   D4
And we got three more days 'til Friday
           D
I'm tryna make it back home
    D4
By Monday, mornin'
    Bm
I swear I wish somebody would tell me
A
Ooh, that's all I want

 D                      D4
Four five seconds from wildin'
              D                   D4
And we got three more days 'til Friday
            D
Just tryna make it back home
    D4
By Monday, mornin'
    Bm
I swear I wish somebody would tell me
 A
Cause that's all I want

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - FourFiveSeconds Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – FourFiveSeconds: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on A. 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 44 times against 12 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	22×
I	D4	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	22×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	4×
iii	Gbm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Gb · A · Db	4×
V/vi	F#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	4×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	12×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	12×
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#	12×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	22×
III	D4	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	22×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	4×
v	Gbm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Gb · A · Db	4×
V	F#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F# · A# · C#	—
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	4×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	12×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 80 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

A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×9
Em Bm Dii → vi Bmiv → iminor plagal ×2

The move to watch is A → D, heard 9 times. From the D side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Bm side it is VII → 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 D4, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bm, land on B, D, 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 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

2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening D lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are D, D4, Bm, A; read them as I–I–vi–V in D or III–III–i–VII in Bm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on A → D (V → I in D, VII → III in Bm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is A; the ear comes to rest in D.

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.