Rihanna - Towards The Sun - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords D, C, Em, A7, D/F#, G, A Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

Em
Turn your face
            D
towards the sun
        A7
Let the shadows
     C
fall behind you
           Em
Don’t look back,
           D
just carry on
        A7
And the shadows
           C
will never find you

Em                       D
Lost in the rock and roll

Got lost in a promise
     C      
Of a love I never know
        Em                    D
Shadows chase me far from home
                   C      
I remember when my heart was filled with gold

        D
And you know

I’ve been burned

I’ve been burned
          C      
I’ve been burned
                           D
You’ve seen me lose control

It’s not worth

It’s not worth
         C
It’s not worth
      D
My soul

          Em
Turn your face
            D
towards the sun
        A7
Let the shadows
     C      
fall behind you
           Em
Don’t look back,
           D
just carry on
        A7
And the shadows
           C      
will never find you

Em                   D
Lost my faith and trust

You and I know
C      
Gold don’t turn to rust
         Em                   D
I still swear that we can reign
                                          C
Like the kings and queens of better yesterdays

          D
Don’t you know

I’ve been burned

I’ve been burned
          C
I’ve been burned
                           D
You’ve seen me lose control

It’s not worth

It’s not worth
         C
It’s not worth
      D     
My soul

         Em
Turn your face
            D
towards the sun
        A7         A7
Let the shadows
     C      
fall behind you
           Em
Don’t look back,
           D
just carry on
        A7
And the shadows
           C
will never find you

C      
   Where you gonna go

Where you gonna go
                D
Where you gonna run to
                                C
When you get to the edge of the night
                     D
Its time you face the sky ooh
 
          Em
Turn your face
            D/F#
towards the sun
        G        
Let the shadows
     A       
fall behind you
           C
Don’t look back,
           D
just carry on
        Em    
And the shadows

End of song Play again?

Rihanna - Towards The Sun Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Rihanna – Towards The Sun: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Em and ends on Em. 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 D is heard 20 times while Bm never appears. 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	19×
I	D/F#	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	1×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	12×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
III	F#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	1×
V7	A7	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E · G	7×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	1×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	—
bVII	C	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	C · E · G	17×
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#	—
bII	C	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	C · E · G	17×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	19×
III	D/F#	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	1×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	12×
v	F#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	F# · A · C#	—
V	F#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F# · A# · C#	—
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	1×
VII7	A7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E · G	7×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	1×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 7 different chords appear 58 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

C D DbVII → IbVII → I BmbII → III ×9
G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1

The move to watch is C → D, heard 9 times. From the D side it reads bVII → I (bVII → I: a rock / Mixolydian arrival); from the Bm side it is bII → 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 C, land on C, E, G — 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.
On C, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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

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

The song's harmonic story

The opening Em lays a solid floor for everything that follows. D, C, Em, A7 carry the song: I–bVII–ii–V7 relative to D, III–bII–iv–VII7 relative to Bm. C briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on C → D (bVII → I in D, bII → III in Bm): bVII → I — a rock / Mixolydian arrival. It closes on Em, letting the D side have the last word.

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.