Beautiful | Chords + Lyrics (no capo)
Intro
||: Eb | Db | Cm | B5 :||
Don’t look at me.
Verse 1
||: Eb | Db | Cm | B5 :||
Every day is so wonderful, then suddenly, it’s hard to breathe.
Now and then I get insecure, from all the pain, I’m so ashamed.
Chorus 1
||: Ab5 | F5 | Eb Db | Cm :||
I am beautiful no matter what they say, words can’t bring me down.
I am beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring me down, oh no.
| F5 |
So don’t you bring me down today.
Instrumental
| Eb | Db | Cm | B5 |
Verse 2
To all your friends you’re delirious, so consumed in all your doom.
Trying hard to fill the emptiness, the pieces gone, left the puzzle undone. Is that the way it is?
Chorus 2
You are beautiful no matter what they say, words can’t bring you down, oh no.
You are beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring you down, oh no.
So don’t you bring me down today.
Middle 8
| Eb | Db |
No matter what we do (No matter what we do). No matter what we say.
| Cm | B5 |
(No matter what we say). We’re the song inside the tune (Yeah). Full of beautiful mistakes.
| Eb | Db |
And everywhere we go (And everywhere we go). The sun will always shine
| Cm | Badd4 |
(The sun will always, always shine). And tomorrow we might wake on the other side.
Chorus 3
‘Cause we are beautiful no matter what they say, yes words won’t bring us down, no, no.
We are beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring us down, oh, no.
So don’t you bring me down today.
Outro (as verse)
||: Eb | Db | Cm | B5 :||
Ooh-oh-oh, yeah. Don’t you bring me down today. Yeah, ooh.
| N.C | Eb | Eb |
Don’t you bring me down. Ooh, today.
Beautiful | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
||: D5/A | C | Bm | Bb :||
Don’t look at me.
Verse 1
||: D5/A | C | Bm | Bb :||
Every day is so wonderful, then suddenly, it’s hard to breathe.
Now and then I get insecure, from all the pain, I’m so ashamed.
Chorus 1
||: G | Em | D/A C | Bm :||
I am beautiful no matter what they say, words can’t bring me down.
I am beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring me down, oh no.
| Em |
So don’t you bring me down today.
Instrumental
| D5/A | C | Bm | Bb |
Verse 2
To all your friends you’re delirious, so consumed in all your doom.
Trying hard to fill the emptiness, the pieces gone, left the puzzle undone. Is that the way it is?
Chorus 2
You are beautiful no matter what they say, words can’t bring you down, oh no.
You are beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring you down, oh no.
So don’t you bring me down today.
Middle 8
| D | C |
No matter what we do (No matter what we do). No matter what we say.
| Bm | Bb |
(No matter what we say). We’re the song inside the tune (Yeah). Full of beautiful mistakes.
| D | C |
And everywhere we go (And everywhere we go). The sun will always shine
| Bm | Bb |
(The sun will always, always shine). And tomorrow we might wake on the other side.
Chorus 3
‘Cause we are beautiful no matter what they say, yes words won’t bring us down, no, no.
We are beautiful in every single way, yes words can’t bring us down, oh, no.
So don’t you bring me down today.
Outro (as verse)
| D | C | Bm | Bb |
Ooh-oh-oh, yeah. Don’t you bring me down today. Yeah, ooh.
| N.C | D | D |
Don’t you bring me down. Ooh, today.
Beautiful Chords: Learn the progressions (key of D/G)
Most of the time when I encounter a tune in an awkward guitar key, I use a capo to make it easier to play a nice arrangement.
For Beautiful, I could easily have done this by adding a capo on fret 1, thinking in the key of D. The verse chords would be this:
| D5/A (I/5) | C (bVIIx) | Bm (VI) | Bb (#V) |
As you can see, the Roman Numerals are I – bVIIx – VI – #V. Two chords are outside the key and provide serious tension, especially the Bb!
Or, we could think of this as in the key of G, the Roman Numerals would then be:
| D5/A (V/5) | C (IV) | Bm (III) | Bb (bIIIx) |
Now that Bb is a bIIIx, that’s still lots of tension.
Neither key has diatonic chords, it is the balance between these keys that creates the tension of the chord progression, very clever.
The chorus chords for Beautiful are, (in the key of D) like this:
| G (IV) | Em (II) | D/A (I) C (bVIIx) | Bm (VI) |
Or, if we think in the key of G, they are now actually diatonic, like this:
| G (I) | Em (VI) | D/A (V) C (IV) | Bm (III) |
You may think that the chorus is clearly in G, but if you listen to it, that first G does sound like a IV chord. Again, it’s the blend of the two options that creates the characteristic sound.
There is TAB available for how to play Beautiful using these chords, as well as how I do it, thinking in the keys of Eb and/or Ab. Here’s a link: Beautiful – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Beautiful Chords: Learn the progressions (key of Eb/Ab)
The intro/verse/instrumental/m8 and outro sections are then this:
| Eb (I or V) | Db (bVIIx or IV) | Cm (VI or III) | B5 (#V or bIIIx) |
The chorus starts on chord I, if you think of it as if it’s in the key of Ab. It starts on chord IV, if you think of it as if it’s in the key of Eb.
These are the chords for the chorus in Eb/Ab.
| Ab (IV or I) | Fm (II or VI) | Eb (I or V) Db (bVIIx or IV) | Cm (VI or III) |
It’s tricky to fret chords in keys such as Eb and Ab when you don’t play with a capo. All chords will have to be barre chords. I only play Ab5 and F5 because of this.
To get some relief, I use a C-shaped Eb chord. Because the chord Eb has a G inside it, we can use the open G string. I also add the little finger on string 1. This adds a 5th to the top of the chord shape.
For the B chord, I use the open B string. Since it’s played in an A shape we lose the ability to make it a minor or major chord. It becomes just a 5-chord (a chord with no 3rd).
During the M8, a new shape is introduced for the B chord. This time it’s in an E shape. We still use the open B but now have a 3rd on the third string. The open E string makes this B chord a Badd4.
For best results, try playing Beautiful using a capo on fret 1 using mainly open-position chords, as well as without (like I do in the video), using mainly barre chords.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you which will be very helpful once you’ve gotten through all the TAB.
Beautiful Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
My chord chart is in the key of Eb, as I played it in the video.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Beautiful Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Beautiful iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
If you want to play using a capo on fret 1 in the key of D, that particular feature will certainly come in handy.
Beautiful was recorded in one vocal take
Written by Linda Perry (best known for her massive hit What’s Going On with her band Four Non Blondes), Linda refused to play Beautiful to anyone, claiming she knew it was going to be a huge hit and purposely saved it for the right artist.
She ended up not just writing, but also producing the song with Christina Aguilera on vocals. During the recording of the song, she insisted on keeping the first take of Christina’s vocal since, as she said, it was exactly what she was looking for. It wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful, just like the message of the song.
Possibly Christina Aguilera’s biggest hit, Beautiful charted at #1 in most countries worldwide. The song got the Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, so Linda was right, that first vocal take was special.
At the same ceremony, Beautiful was also nominated for Song Of The Year and Best Remixed Album.
The music video for Beautiful was directed by Swedish Jonas Akerlund, who also made videos for Madonna, Cardigans, and Lady GaGa.
As with most worldwide hits, you do need a great tune, but also a perfectly suited vocal, interesting chords and a great music video. All these elements came together in Beautiful.
Beautiful Chords | Related Pages
Beautiful | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, we look at loads of TAB for how to play Beautiful, with and without a capo, including a complete arrangement of Spytunes version.
| Eb | Db | Cm | B5 |
Every day is so wonderful, then suddenly, it’s hard to breathe…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
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- Angels chords by Robbie Williams
- At Last chords by Etta James
- Empire State Of Mind chords by Alicia Keys
- Last Request chords by Paolo Nutini
Christina Aguilera tunes
Starting out alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on the legendary TV show The Mickey Mouse Club, Christina Aguilera has reached worldwide fame.
Her biggest tunes include Beautiful, Genie In A Bottle, Candyman, What A Girl Wants, Moves Like Jagger, At Last, Car Wash, and Fever.
Christina Aguilera on the web
Linda Perry tunes
Best known for worldwide hit What’s Up with her band 4 Non Blondes, singer-songwriter Linda Perry has plenty more strings to her bow.
As a writer and producer, she also penned Beautiful for Christina Aguilera and Get The Party Started for Pink.
Linda Perry on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Beautiful chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
