Not Fair | Chords and Lyrics
Intro
| Dm | Dm | F | F |
Verse 1
| Dm | Dm |
Oh, he treats me with respect, he says he loves me all the time.
| F | F |
He calls me fifteen times a day, he likes to make sure that I’m fine.
| Dm | Dm |
You know I’ve never met a man, who’s made me feel quite so secure.
| F | F N.C |
He’s not like all them other boys, they’re all so dumb and immature.
Bridge 1
| Dm | Dm |
There’s just one thing that’s getting in the way.
| F | F |
When we go up to bed you’re just no good, it’s such a shame.
| Dm | Dm |
I look into your eyes, I want to get to know you.
| F | F N.C |
And then you make this noise and it’s apparent it’s all over.
Chorus 1
| Gm | Bb |
It’s not fair, and I think you’re really mean.
| F | C |
I think you’re really mean, I think you’re really mean.
| Gm | Bb |
Oh, you’re supposed to care but you never make me scream.
| C | C |
You never make me scream.
Chorus 2
Oh, it’s not fair and it’s really not okay.
It’s really not okay, it’s really not okay.
Oh, you’re supposed to care, but all you do is take.
Yeah, all you do is take.
Verse 2 (first half no drums)
Oh, I lie here in the wet patch in the middle of the bed.
I’m feeling pretty damn hard done by, I spent ages giving head.
Then I remember all the nice things that you’ve ever said to me.
Maybe I’m just overreacting, maybe you’re the one for me.
Bridge 2
There’s just one thing that’s getting in the way.
When we go up to bed you’re just no good, it’s such a shame.
I look into your eyes, I want to get to know you.
And then you make this noise and it’s apparent it’s all over.
Chorus 3
It’s not fair, and I think you’re really mean.
I think you’re really mean, I think you’re really mean.
Oh, you’re supposed to care but you never make me scream.
You never make me scream.
Chorus 4
Oh, it’s not fair and it’s really not okay.
It’s really not okay, it’s really not okay.
Oh, you’re supposed to care, but all you do is take.
Yeah, all you do is take.
Solo
||: Dm | Dm | F | F :||
Bridge 3
||: N.C | N.C :||
There’s just one thing that’s getting in the way.
When we go up to bed you’re just no good, it’s such a shame.
I look into your eyes, I want to get to know you.
And then you make this noise and it’s apparent it’s all over.
Chorus 5
It’s not fair, and I think you’re really mean.
I think you’re really mean, I think you’re really mean.
Oh, you’re supposed to care but you never make me scream.
You never make me scream.
Chorus 6
Oh, it’s not fair and it’s really not okay.
It’s really not okay, it’s really not okay.
Oh, you’re supposed to care, but all you do is take.
| C | C | F |
Yeah, all you do is take.
Not Fair Chords: A Deep Dive into the Key and Structure
Not Fair employs a simple structure for the verse and bridge, alternating between chords VI and I, as shown below:
Verse/Bridge
||: Dm (VI) | Dm | F (I) | F :||
The double chorus follows a II – IV – I – V progression, with a slight variation where the I chord is skipped every other time:
Chorus
||: Gm (II) | Bb (IV) | F (I) | C (V) |
| Gm | Bb | C | C :||
While Not Fair is completely diatonic, the challenge doesn’t lie in the chords themselves, but rather the tempo and how to play them on one guitar—whether in a band or solo on an acoustic.
A potential solution is to tune down a tone and play in the key of G.
After considering how to approach this, I created some TAB for you. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: Not Fair – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve worked through that, this chord chart will be all you need.
Not Fair Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
If you’d like to download the chord chart, here’s a PDF: Not Fair Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro. Here’s a link to the file: Not Fair chord chart iReal Pro. With the iReal Pro app, you can easily change the key to suit your needs.
As discussed in the TAB lesson, changing the key is a great option if you’re playing Not Fair on your own, without a band.
Lily Allen’s Bold Country Detour in Not Fair
Not Fair by Lily Allen is a humorous country-pop hit from her 2009 album It’s Not Me, It’s You.
Following her successful debut Alright, Still (2006), which featured the #1 single Smile, English singer Lily Allen shifted away from her pop-reggae influence and explored new styles, including country, for her follow-up album.
While the country direction didn’t have the same impact in the U.S. as she may have hoped, two singles from the album, The Fear and Not Fair, were successful back home.
Eventually, the album sold over a million copies, and the singles performed even better combined.
Not Fair Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Not Fair (Lily Allen) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: