Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords C, F, Bb, Gm, Dm, A Easy key G

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Capo 0

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm

Oh yeah yeah
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah, uh
Oh yeah yeah
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah, uh

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
          Never had much faith in love or miracles
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
          Never would have put my heart on the line
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
          But swimming in your world is something spiritual
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
          I'm born again every time you spend the night

C Dm C Bb F Gm
Cause your sex takes me to paradise
Yeah, your sex takes me to paradise
        F         A
And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah

                  Bb
Cause you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long
        C
For too long

                       Bb
Yeah, you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long 
        C
For too long, oh oh oh oh

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
              Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah ooh
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
              Oh yeah yeah
              Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah ooh

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
       You bring me to my knees You make me testify
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
       You could make a sinner change his ways
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm 
       Open up your gates Cause I can’t wait to see the light
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm
       And right there is where I want to stay, stay

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm  
Cause your sex takes me to paradise 
Yea your sex takes me to paradise
        F        A
And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah

                  Bb
Cause you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long
        C 
For too long

                  Bb
Yeah you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long
        C 
For too long

   Bb        Gm
Oh woah woah woah, yeah, yeah, yeah
               F
Can't I just stay here
                     C
Spend the rest of my days here
 
   Bb        Gm
Oh, woah, woah, woah, yeah, yeah, yeah
               F
Can't I just stay here
                     C
Spend the rest of my days here
 
                  Bb
Cause you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long
        C 
For too long

                  Bb
Cause you make me feel like
                        Gm
I’ve been locked out of heaven
        F
For too long
        C
For too long oh oh oh oh

C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm 
             Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Ooh!
C  Dm  C  Bb  F  Gm 
             Oh, yeah, yeah,
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Locked Out Of Heaven: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on Gm. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = E (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Bb (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
#7 = C# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between F major and D minor because F is heard 25 times against 15 for Dm and the major V chord points straight at Dm. 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 F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	25×
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	23×
iii	Am	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E	—
V/vi	A	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant	A · C# · E	2×
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	23×
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	38×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	15×
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	15×
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	25×
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	23×
v	Am	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E	—
V	A	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E	2×
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	23×
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	38×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 6 different chords appear 126 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm.

Chord movement

C Dm FV → videceptive cadence DmVII → iAeolian arrival ×15
Bb F FIV → Iplagal cadence DmVI → III ×15
Gm C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×12

The move to watch is C → Dm, heard 15 times. From the F side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected F, lands on Dm); from the Dm side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — 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.
When A comes, swap the scale's C for C#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

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

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is C, F, Bb, Gm — V–I–IV–ii from the F side, VII–III–VI–iv from the Dm side. A is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on C → Dm (V → vi in F, VII → i in Dm): deceptive cadence — expected F, lands on Dm. It closes on Gm, letting the F 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.