Major view
A major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Justin Bieber - Cold Water - Chord
Key A major – F# minor Chords Em, G, Bm, C, D Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
Capo: 0
Em G Bm C
Em G
Everybody gets high sometimes
Bm C
You know
Em G
What else can we do
Bm C
When we're feeling low
Em G
So take a deep breath and
Bm C
Let it go
Em G
You shouldn't be drowning
Bm C
On your own
Em G
And if you feel you're sinking
Bm C
I will jump right over
Em G Bm C
Into cold, cold water for you
Em G
And although time may take us into
Bm C
Different places
Em G Bm C
I will still be patient with you
D
And I hope you know
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your lifeline tonight
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your lifeline tonight
Em G
Cause we all get lost sometimes
Bm C
You know
Em G
It's how we learn
Bm C
How we grow
Em G
And I wanna lay with you
Bm C
'Til I'm old
Em G
You shouldn't be fighting
Bm C
On your own
Em G
And if you feel you're sinking
Bm C
I will jump right over
Em G Bm C
Into cold, cold water for you
Em G
And although time may take us into
Bm C
Different places
Em G Bm C
I will still be patient with you
D
And I hope you know
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your lifeline tonight
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your lifeline tonight
Em
Come on, come on I'm
G Bm C
Save me from my rocking boat
Em G
I just wanna stay afloat
Bm C
I'm all alone
Em
And I hope, I hope
G Bm C
Someone's gonna take me home
Em G
Somewhere I can rest my soul
Bm C
I need to know
Em G Bm C
You won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your life line tonight
Em G Bm C
You won't let go
Em G Bm C
I'll be your life line tonight
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
Em G Bm C
I won't let go
End of song Play again?
Justin Bieber - Cold Water Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Justin Bieber – Cold Water: key and chord analysis
The song opens on Em and ends on C. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
F# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = E (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 A major and F# minor. 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 A or to F#m; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | A | Tonic — home | A · C# · E | — |
| ii | Bm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F# | 35× |
| bIII | C | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | C · E · G | 35× |
| iii | C#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | C# · E · G# | — |
| III | C# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C# · E# · G# | — |
| IV | D | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F# · A | 2× |
| V | E | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B | — |
| v | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 35× |
| vi | F#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | F# · A · C# | — |
| bVII | G | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | G · B · D | 35× |
| vii° | G#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | G# · B · D | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | Tonic — home | F# · A · C# | — |
| bII | G | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | G · B · D | 35× |
| ii° | G#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G# · B · D | — |
| III | A | Relative major — the bright side | A · C# · E | — |
| iv | Bm | Subdominant — moves away from home | B · D · F# | 35× |
| #IV | C | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · E · G | 35× |
| v | C#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | C# · E · G# | — |
| V | C# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | C# · E# · G# | — |
| VI | D | Submediant — warm colour | D · F# · A | 2× |
| VII | E | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B | — |
| vii | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 35× |
Analysis
The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 5 different chords appear 142 times in total; 2 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G, C are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.
Chord movement
There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.
Improvisation tips
- A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
- Over Em, land on E, G, B — 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 Bm, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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 A major shapes
- No capo — open A shapes
- Capo 2 + G shapes
- Capo 5 + E shapes
With F# minor shapes
- Capo 2 + Em shapes
- Capo 4 + Dm shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
Starting on Em, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is Em, G, Bm, C — v–bVII–ii–bIII from the A side, vii–bII–iv–#IV from the F#m side. G briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in A.
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.
Justin Bieber - Cold Water Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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