Chords + Lyrics | The Scientist
Intro
||: Dm7 | Bb (Bsus2) | F | Fsus2 :||
Verse 1
||: Dm7 | Bb | F | Fsus2 :||
Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry, you don’t know how lovely you are.
I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart.
Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions, oh let’s go back to the start.
Running in circles, coming up tails, heads on a science apart.
Chorus 1
| Bbadd9 | Bbadd9 | F | Fsus2 |
Nobody said it was easy, it’s such a shame for us to part.
| Bbadd9 | Bbadd9 | F | Fsus2 |
Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard.
| C5 C6 | C7 |
Oh, take me back to the start.
Instrumental 1
| F | Bb (Bbadd9) | F | F |
| F/A | Bb (Bbadd9) | F | Fsus2 |
Verse 2
I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science, science, and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart.
But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me, oh and I rush to the start.
Running in circles, chasing our tails, coming back as we are.
Chorus 2
Nobody said it was easy, oh it’s such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard.
I’m going back to the start.
Instrumental 2
| Fsus4 (F) | Bbadd9 | Fsus4 (F) | Fsus4 (F) |
| Dm7 | Bbadd9 | Fsus4 (F) | Fsus4 (F) |
Outro
||: Dm7 | Bbadd9 | Fsus4 (F) | Fsus4 (F) :||
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Ah ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
The Scientist | Chords + Lyrics (capo 1)
Intro
||: C#m7 | A (Asus2) | E | Esus2 :||
Verse 1
||: C#m7 | A | E | Esus2 :||
Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry, you don’t know how lovely you are.
I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart.
Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions, oh let’s go back to the start.
Running in circles, coming up tails, heads on a science apart.
Chorus 1
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | E | Esus2 |
Nobody said it was easy, it’s such a shame for us to part.
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | E | Esus2 |
Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard.
| B5 B6 | B7 |
Oh, take me back to the start.
Instrumental 1
| E | A (Aadd9) | E | E |
| E/G# | A (Aadd9) | E | Esus2 |
Verse 2
I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science, science, and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart.
But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me, oh and I rush to the start.
Running in circles, chasing our tails, coming back as we are.
Chorus 2
Nobody said it was easy, oh it’s such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard.
I’m going back to the start.
Instrumental 2
| Esus4 (E) | Aadd9 | Esus4 (E) | Esus4 (E) |
| C#m7 | Aadd9 | Esus4 (E) | Esus4 (E) |
Outro
||: C#m7 | Aadd9 | Esus4 (E) | Esus4 (E) :||
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Ah ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh.
The Scientist Chords: A Breakdown of All the Progressions in Two Keys
Intro + Verse
In the key of F—a favourite among piano players—The Scientist follows this chord progression during the intro and verse:
||: Dm7 (VI) | Bb (IV) Bbadd9 | F (I) | Fsus2 :||
For acoustic guitar players, this key can be frustrating, so a capo on the first fret allows us to think in the key of E instead. The chords then become:
||: C#m7 (VI) | A (IV) Aadd9 | E (I) | Esus2 :||
After experimenting with these chords, I came up with an intro arrangement for solo acoustic guitar, which I’ve detailed in TAB. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: The Scientist – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The verse follows the same chords as the intro, but to leave space for the vocal, we strip it back and drop the Asus2. Again, TAB will help illustrate this properly.
Chorus
For the chorus, The Scientist keeps it simple, looping IV – I before resolving to V, with some chord extensions, first in F:
||: Bbadd9 (IV) | Bbadd9 | F (I) | Fsus2 :||
| C5 (V) C6 | C7 |
And here in the key of E.
||: Aadd9 (IV) | Aadd9 | E (I) | Esus2 :||
| B5 (V) B6 | B7 |
Instrumental
The instrumental section follows this progression (in F):
| F | Bb (Bbadd9) | F | F |
| F/A | Bb (Bbadd9) | F | Fsus2 |
Or like this in E:
| E | A (Aadd9) | E | E |
| E/G# | A (Aadd9) | E | Esus2 |
Outro
The outro introduces a suspended fourth achieved by hammering on from the 3rd to the 4th and back. Since the chords change four times per bar, I’ve placed the triad in brackets rather than listing each chord separately:
||: Dm7 | Bbadd9 | Fsus4 (F) | Fsus4 (F) :||
Or in the key of E:
||: C#m7 | Aadd9 | Esus4 (E) | Esus4 (E) :||
Once you’ve worked through the TAB, played along with the original recording, and feel confident with The Scientist‘s chords, this simple chord chart is all you need to perform it.
I’ve written it in the original key of F, as you may find yourself playing it with a band rather than solo—more on that below.
The Scientist Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: The Scientist chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: The Scientist iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key—something you’ll likely want to do if playing the song on a single guitar. Simply transpose it to E.
Whether or not you use a capo is up to you—a singer won’t notice a semitone difference unless they have perfect pitch!
The Scientist TAB | Course Preview
In the course, I’ve created TAB that works across all sections of The Scientist for solo acoustic guitar—everything is arranged to sound full with just one player supporting a singer.
As a preview, here’s the intro. Don’t forget to pop a capo on!
The Scientist Music Video: How Spike Jonze Inspired Its Reverse Storytelling
All great songs deserve a great music video, and The Scientist certainly delivers!
The video won three MTV Video Music Awards, largely due to its unique storytelling technique—playing the narrative in reverse.
Directed by Jamie Thraves, it begins with Chris Martin singing the first verse on a mattress in a London suburb before quickly shifting into reverse mode. As he sings in sync while the world moves backward, the story of what happened unfolds in reverse.
To achieve this effect, Chris Martin had to learn and sing the song backwards! The technique had previously been used in the 1996 music video Drop by The Pharcyde, directed by Spike Jonze.
The Scientist Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: The Scientist (Coldplay) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
