Rihanna - Rehab - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords C, G, Am, F Easy key G (capo 5)

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

Am  C  G  F

Am         C
Baby, baby when we first met
G            F
I never felt something so strong
Am               C
You were like my lover and my best friend
G                F
All wrapped into one with a ribbon on it
Am                  C
And all of a sudden you went and left
G                   F
I didn't know how to follow
             Am
It's like a shock that spun me around
C
And now my heart's dead
G                  F
I feel so empty and hollow

Am                            C
And I'll never give myself to another
C
The way I gave it to you
G                F
Don't even recognize

The ways you hurt me, do you
Am                  C
It's gonna take a miracle to bring me back
G                    F
And you're the one to blame
                      Am
And now I feel like, oh
C
You're the reason why I'm thinking
G                    F
I don't wanna smoke on these cigarettes no more
Am                     C
I guess that's what I get for wishful thinking
G                      F
Should've never let you enter my door
Am   C                       G
Next time you wanna go on and leave
F
I should just let you go on and do it
Am       C                G
Cause now I'm using like I bleed
F                       Am
It's like I checked into rehab
C                 G
Baby you're my disease
F                       Am
It's like I checked into rehab
C                 G
Baby you're my disease
F                 Am
I gotta check into rehab
C                        G
'Cause baby you're my disease
F                Am
I gotta check into rehab
C                        G
'Cause baby you're my disease
Am               C                       G
Damn, ain't it crazy when you're loveswept
                   F
You'll do anything for the one you love
Am                      C
'Cause anytime that you needed me I'd be there
G                    F
It's like you were my favorite drug
Am                           C
The only problem is that you was using me
G                            F
In a different way that I was using you
Am                               C
But now that I know that it's not meant to be
      G                            G
You gotta go, I gotta wean myself off of you

Am                            C
And I'll never give myself to another
C
The way I gave it to you
G                F
Don't even recognize

The ways you hurt me, do you
Am                  C
It's gonna take a miracle to bring me back
G                    F
And you're the one to blame
                      Am
And now I feel like, oh
C
You're the reason why I'm thinking
G                    F
I don't wanna smoke on these cigarettes no more
Am                     C
I guess that's what I get for wishful thinking
G                      F
Should've never let you enter my door
Am   C                       G
Next time you wanna go on and leave
F
I should just let you go on and do it
Am       C                G
Cause now I'm using like I bleed
F                       Am
It's like I checked into rehab
C                 G
Baby you're my disease
F                       Am
It's like I checked into rehab
C                 G
Baby you're my disease
F                 Am
I gotta check into rehab
C                        G
'Cause baby you're my disease
F                Am
I gotta check into rehab
C                        G
'Cause baby you're my disease

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Rehab Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Rehab: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on G. 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: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because it opens on Am and C is heard 31 times against 29 for Am. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

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	31×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	26×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	30×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	29×
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	29×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	31×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	26×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	30×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 4 different chords appear 116 times in total; 4 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

F Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×26
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×2

The move to watch is F → Am, heard 26 times. From the C side it reads IV → vi; from the Am side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home). 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 C, land on C, E, G — 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 Am, land on A, C, E — 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

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening Am lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is C, G, Am, F — I–V–vi–IV from the C side, III–VII–i–VI from the Am side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on F → Am (IV → vi in C, VI → i in Am): VI → i — falls a half step into home. The final chord is G; the ear comes to rest in C.

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.