If I Ain’t Got You | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
|6/8 Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | G (G Am7 G/B) |
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | G C/G |
Verse 1
| G | Em7 | Am7 | D7sus2 C/G |
Some people live for the fortune. Some people live just for the fame.
| G | G#dim7 | Am7 | D7 |
Some people live for the power, yeah. Some people live just to play the game.
Bridge 1
| Gmaj7 Am7 | Bm7 Am7 | Gmaj7 Am7 | Bm7 Cmaj7 Bm7 Am7 |
Some people think that the physical things, define what’s within.
| Gmaj7 Am7 | Bm7 Am7 | Gmaj7 Am7 | Bm7 |
And I’ve been there before, that life’s a bore, so full of the superficial.
Chorus 1
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 |
Some people want it all, but I don’t want nothing at all.
| Am7 | Gmaj7 |
If it ain’t you, baby. If I ain’t got you, baby.
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 |
Some people want diamond rings, some just want everything.
| Am7 | Gmaj7 C/G |
But everything means nothing. If I ain’t got you, yeah.
Verse 2
Some people search for a fountain, promises forever young.
Some people need three dozen roses and that’s the only way to prove you love them.
Bridge 1
Hand me the world on a silver platter and what good would it be.
With no one to share, with no one who truly cares for me.
Chorus 2
Some people want it all but I don’t want nothing at all.
If it ain’t you, baby. If I ain’t got you, baby.
Some people want diamond rings, some just want everything.
| Am7 | Gmaj7 |
But everything means nothing, if I ain’t got you, you, you.
Chorus 3
Some people want it all but I don’t want nothing at all.
If it ain’t you, baby. If I ain’t got you, baby.
Some people want diamond rings, some just want everything.
But everything means nothing. If I ain’t got you, yeah.
End
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | G (G Am7 G/B) |
If I ain’t got you with me baby, oh, ooh.
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | Gmaj7 |
Said nothing in this whole wide world don’t mean a thing if I ain’t got you with me, baby.
If I Ain’t Got You Chords: The Power of Simplicity and Predictability
The simplicity of If I Ain’t Got You‘s chords is what makes it work so well.
As a listener, you feel as if you know exactly what’s going to happen next. This is what makes it a hit: it feels familiar, yet you want to hear it again!
Let’s work through the chords to see if they can give us a clue as to why this is the case.
The intro chords are the same ones used in the chorus, but during the intro, they’re played as fast triplet arpeggios—very clever. Here are the chords:
|6/8 Cmaj7 (IV) | Bm7 (III) | Am7 (II) | G (I) (G Am7 G/B) |
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | G C/G |
As you can see, we start on chord IV, then move down to chord I like this: IV – III – II – I. Then it quickly ascends again, I – II – III, only to repeat. It couldn’t be simpler!
This is, of course, played on the piano, but we can play it on the guitar as well. You’ll need your fingers and some TAB to see it in detail. Check this: If I Ain’t Got You – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The verse starts on chord I, and it’s just like the intro/chorus—simple and predictable:
| G (I) | Em7 (VI) | Am7 (II) | D7sus2 (V) C/G |
| G | G#dim7 (#Idim7) | Am7 | D7 |
What we have here is a I – VI – II – V progression, one of the most common chord progressions around. The C/G is just a passing chord, adding a Gospel influence.
On the second line, we change from chord VI (Em7) to G#dim7. Again, this is very standard stuff. Notice the subtle variation of D7sus2 the first time, and D7 the second time (check the TAB!).
It’s the simplicity of this jazz/blues/gospel language that makes it so accessible, and therefore, a hit.
Most artists would have tried harder to prove themselves, but Alicia Keys understands how to use the basics well. She talks about this in the second video of the playlist above.
A Masterclass in Gospel Jazz/Blues Simplicity
The bridge moves in a similar way to Lean On Me—compare these two tunes!
||: Gmaj7 (I) Am7 (II) | Bm7 (III) Am7 | Gmaj7 Am7 |
| 1. Bm7 (Cmaj7 Bm7 Am7) :|| 2. Bm7 |
The chorus follows the same progression as the intro, just without the 16th-note triplet arpeggios (check the TAB!). Here are the chords:
| Cmaj7 (IV) | Bm7 (III) | Am7 (II) | Gmaj7 (I) |
| Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Am7 | Gmaj7 C/G |
The outro mirrors the intro.
If I Ain’t Got You‘s chords are a masterclass in writing an accessible Gospel Jazz/Blues tune in 6/8.
Aside from Alicia Keys, I can only think of Al Green and Bill Withers who could pull this off. Most artists and bands tend to overplay, losing the simplicity that makes a song a hit.
Once you’ve listened to this incredible tune on repeat and studied all the TAB, a simple chord chart is all you’ll need for the gig—here’s one I made for you.
If I Ain’t Got You Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: If I Ain’t Got You Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: If I Ain’t Got You iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
The Perfect Follow-Up to Fallin’
Alicia Keys’ debut album, Songs in A Minor (2001), was a phenomenal success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide.
Much of that success was driven by the lead single Fallin’, which made her a household name. The song reached the top 10 in twenty countries and sold 3 million copies in the U.S. alone.
Following up such an immense hit required something equally powerful—enter If I Ain’t Got You.
Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), performed exceptionally well in the U.S., selling 5 million copies, while the single If I Ain’t Got You surpassed that with 6 million.
These two songs, Fallin’ and If I Ain’t Got You, were the defining hits of her first two albums, and were enough to establish her as one of the top American soul singers of the millennium.
She continued the trend of delivering at least one massive hit per album: As I Am (2007) had No One, The Element of Freedom (2009) brought the anthemic Empire State of Mind, and Girl on Fire (2012) became another signature song.
Ultimately, it’s the hits that create an artist’s legacy. A great artist isn’t just defined by their body of work but by the quality of the songs that stand the test of time. Alicia Keys has proven that a handful of timeless songs is all it takes to cement a lasting impact on music history.
If I Ain’t Got You Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: