Flowers | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 |
Verse 1
| Am7 | Dm7 |
We were good, we were gold.
| G | Cmaj7 |
Kinda dream that can’t be sold.
| Am7 | Dm7 |
We were right, ’til we weren’t.
| G | Cmaj7 |
Built a home and watched it burn.
Bridge 1
| Am | Dm7 |
Mm, I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna lie.
| E7 | N.C |
Started to cry, but then remembered I.
Chorus 1
| N.C Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B |
I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand.
| Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B |
Talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand.
| Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B |
I can take myself dancing, and I can hold my own hand.
| Fmaj7 | E |
Yeah, I can love me better than, you can.
Chorus tag 1
||: Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B :||
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Verse 2
Paint my nails, cherry red.
Match the roses that you left.
No remorse, no regret.
I forgive every word you said.
Bridge 2
Ooh, I didn’t wanna leave you, baby, I didn’t wanna fight.
Started to cry, but then remembered I.
Chorus 2
I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand.
Talk to myself for hours, yeah, say things you don’t understand.
I can take myself dancing, yeah. I can hold my own hand.
Yeah, I can love me better than, you can.
Chorus tag 2
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Can love me better, oh, I.
Bridge 3 (breakdown)
I didn’t wanna leave you, I didn’t wanna fight.
Started to cry, but then remembered I.
Chorus 3
I can buy myself flowers (oh-oh). Write my name in the sand (mm).
Talk to myself for hours (yeah). Say things you don’t understand (you never will).
I can take myself dancing, yeah. I can hold my own hand.
| Fmaj7 | E | Fmaj7 | E |
Yeah I can love me better than. Yeah I can love me better than, you can.
Chorus tag
||: Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B :||
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby (oh).
Can love me better, I can love me better (than you can), baby.
Can love me better, I can love me better, baby.
Can love me better, I.
Flowers Chords: How to Play Miley Cyrus’ Hit on Guitar
Miley Cyrus Flowers presents a unique challenge for guitarists, as there’s no guitar on the original recording.
When adapting a song like this, I start by identifying the core chord progression and then transcribe standout instrumental parts for inspiration. In Flowers, the bassline is the most distinctive element, so I transcribed it first—it’s surprisingly fun to play along with the original recording!
From there, I developed several guitar arrangements, all fully TABBED out for you. You can find them here: Flowers – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Chord Progression
Main progression:
||: Am7 |(VI) Dm7 (II) | G (V) | Cmaj7 (I) :||
Bridge:
The Am7 changes to a plain Am, followed by Dm7 and E7 (IIIx):
| Am | Dm7 | E7 | N.C |
Chorus:
In the second half of the last bar, play C/B for a smooth transition. The last two bars are chords IV – IIIx.
| N.C Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B |
||: Am7 | Dm7 | G | Cmaj7 C/B :||
| Fmaj7 | E |
Once you’ve worked through the TAB lesson and nailed the parts, don’t forget to bring this chord chart to the gig—you’ll be ready to go!
Flowers Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Flowers chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. Here’s a link to the file: Flowers chord chart iReal Pro. You can change the key using this and the iRealPro app.
Is Flowers a rip-off of a Bruno Mars tune?
There’s an internet rumour going around that Flowers is a disco version of Bruno Mars‘s ballad When I Was Your Man.
This claim is based on the lyrics rather than the chords or production, which is usually what people focus on—like Ed Sheeran’s Perfect vs. Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, or Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines vs. another Marvin tune, Got to Give It Up. The most obvious example is Sam Smith’s Stay With Me vs. Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down.
Someone has bought a share of the rights to Bruno’s song, and they’re the ones pursuing legal action against Miley, likely in hopes of making more money.
In the case of Miley vs. Bruno, the similarity is in the lyrics. Here’s Bruno Mars:
That I should’ve bought you flowers and held your hand.
Shoulda gave you all my hours when I had the chance.
Take you to every party, ’cause all you wanted to do was dance.
Now my baby’s dancin’, but she’s dancin’ with another man.
And here’s Miley’s:
I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand.
Talk to myself for hours, say things you don’t understand.
I can take myself dancing, I can hold my own hand.
Yeah, I can love me better than…
I honestly don’t see how this is a rip-off at all.
If you’re worried about copying songs, I’d encourage you to try it anyway—just as an exercise. You don’t have to release it!
Songwriting is a craft, and the most important thing is to keep working at it. If there’s no inspiration, rewriting a song can lead to unexpected ideas.
To me, Flowers sounds very little like Bruno Mars’s tune. If anything, I feel I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor may have been the main inspiration.
Flowers Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Flowers (Miley Cyrus) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: