Rihanna - Unfaithful - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Ab, Cm, Bb, Gm, Bb/D, Cm7, Eb, Fm7 Easy key G

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Capo 0

Cm               Ab                      Cm                    Ab
Story of my life, searching for the right, but it keeps avoiding me
Cm                Ab                         Cm                   Ab
Sorrow in my soul, cause it seems that wrong, really loves my company
Cm                 Ab                         Cm                           Ab
His more than a man and this is more than love the reason that this sky is blue
Cm                       Ab                  Cm                              Gm
the clouds are rolling in because I'm gone again and to him I just can't be true

           Ab               Bb              Cm             Gm
and I know that he knows I'm unfaithful and it kills him inside
           Ab                Bb          Ab
to know that I am happy with some other guy 
I can see him dying

Cm          Ab          Bb
I don't wanna do this anymore
         Gm             Cm
I don't wanna be the reason why
            Ab           Bb
Everytime I walk out the door
         Gm                 Cm
I see him die a little more inside
          Ab              Bb
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
            Gm              Ab
I don't wanna take away his life
             Bb/D           Cm
I don't wanna be...  a murderer

Cm                  Ab                 Cm                     Ab
I feel it in the air as I'm doing my hair preparing for another day
Cm                   Ab                       Cm                   Ab
A kiss up on my cheek He's here reluctantly as if I'm gonna be out late
Cm7                 Ab                           Cm                     Ab
I say I won't be long Just hanging with the girls A liar didn't have to tell
Cm                    Ab                    Cm                  Gm
Because we both know where I'm about to go and we know it very well

        Ab                   Bb               Cm            Gm
cause I know that he knows I'm unfaithful and it kills him inside
            Ab              Bb          Ab
to know that I am happy with some other guy
I can see him dying


Cm  Bb
Our love, his trust
Eb               Fm7            Ab            Bb               Ab
 I might as well take a gun and put it to his head Get it over with
                  
I don't wanna do this
Anymore 

No no no no
Yeah yeah yeah

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Unfaithful Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Unfaithful: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cm and ends on Ab. 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 C minor side because it opens on Cm and Cm is heard 23 times against 1 for Eb. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

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	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	1×
ii7	Fm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C · Eb	1×
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	7×
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	26×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	9×
V	Bb/D	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	1×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	22×
vi7	Cm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
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	22×
i7	Cm7	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G · Bb	1×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	1×
iv7	Fm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C · Eb	1×
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	7×
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	26×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	9×
VII	Bb/D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	1×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 8 different chords appear 68 times in total; 8 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

Ab Cm EbIV → vi CmVI → iVI → i ×15
Ab Bb EbIV → VIV → V CmVI → VIIVI → VII ×8
Bb Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×2
Gm Cm Ebiii → vi Cmv → inatural-minor cadence ×2
Bb Eb EbV → Iauthentic cadence CmVII → III ×1
Bb/D Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×1

The move to watch is Ab → Cm, heard 15 times. From the Cm side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home); from the Eb side it reads IV → vi. 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 Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Cm, land on C, Eb, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bb, land on Bb, 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 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

4 semitones up
3 semitones down · capo 3 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Cm, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are Ab, Cm, Bb, Gm; read them as IV–vi–V–iii in Eb or VI–i–VII–v in Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Ab → Cm (IV → vi in Eb, VI → i in Cm): VI → i — falls a half step into home. The final chord is Ab; the ear comes to rest in Eb.

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.