Locked Out Of Heaven chords

by Bruno Mars

Song Key: D Minor (Relative Minor of F Major)

Key Signature: 1 flat (Bb)

Time Signature: 4/4 (♩)

Tempo: 146 bpm (Moderately fast)

Vocal Range: A4 - C6


Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Beginner

Chords: Dm, C, B♭, F, Gm, A

Power Chords: D5, C5, B♭5, F5, G5, A5... charts below.

Chord Chart Legend
C Major Dm Bb Major Bb Major barre chord F Major F Major barre chord Gm barre chord A Major

Power Chords:

C5 Power Chord D5 Power Chord Bb5 Power Chord F5 Power Chord G5 Power Chord A5 Power Chord
C Major-LH Dm-LH Bb Major-LH Bb Major barre chord-LH F Major-LH F Major barre chord-LH Gm barre chord-LH A Major-LH

Power Chords:

C5 Power Chord-LH D5 Power Chord-LH Bb5 Power Chord-LH F5 Power Chord-LH G5 Power Chord-LH A5 Power Chord-LH
ASCII Chord Charts: number = fret, x = don't play, 0 = play open string, (B) Barre Chord
Chord Guitar Piano Chord Guitar Piano
C x32010 C-E-G F xx3211 F-A-C
Dm xx0231 D-F-A Gm 355333 G-Bb-D
Bb x13331 (B) Bb-D-F A x02220 A-C#-E

Locked Out Of Heaven

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key 
                        C   Dm
Intro: 4/4 | 1&  2&  3  &4  &  |  

   C   Bb            F    Gm                              C  Dm
   Oh, yeah, yeah    Oh,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah... Ooh! 
   C   Bb            F    Gm                              C  Dm
   Oh, yeah, yeah    Oh,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah... Ooh! 

              C    Bb            F   Gm               C  Dm
1. Ne-ver had much faith in love or  mir-a-cles    Ooh! 
              C   Bb              F   Gm         C  Dm
   Ne-ver wan-na  put my heart on the line    Ooh! 
                    C    Bb             F     Gm                C  Dm
   But swim-ming in your wa-ter is some-thing spir-i-tual    Ooh! 
                       C  Bb             F   Gm 
   I'm born a-gain ev'-ry time you spend the night    Ooh! 

         C          Dm              Bb
Bridge: 'Cause your sex takes me to Par-a-dise
                   Dm              Bb
        Yeah, your sex takes me to Par-a-dise
               F        A
        And it shows... yeah, yeah, yeah

                           Bb                                   Gm7
Chorus: 'Cause you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C
        For too long    For too long 
                          Bb                                   Gm7
        Yeah, you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C         C  Dm        C  Bb
        For too long    For too long |          |            |

       F   Gm                   C  Dm
Intro: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, Ooh! 
       C   Bb            F    Gm                            C  Dm
       Oh, yeah, yeah    Oh,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah  Ooh! 

                   C  Bb             F  Gm              C  Dm
2. You bring me to my knees you make me test-i-fy    Ooh! 
                C  Bb             F    Gm
   You can make a  sin-ner change his  ways    Ooh! 
   C     Dm             C     Bb           F  Gm                  C  Dm
   O-pen up your gates 'cause I can't wait to see the light    Ooh! 
                   C  Bb          F  Gm
   And right there is where I wan-na stay    Ooh! 

         C          Dm              Bb
Bridge: 'Cause your sex takes me to Par-a-dise
                   Dm              Bb
        Yeah, your sex takes me to Par-a-dise
               F/A      A
        And it shows... yeah, yeah, yeah

                           Bb                                   Gm7
Chorus: 'Cause you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C
        For too long    For too long 
                          Bb                                   Gm7
        Yeah, you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C         C     
        For too long    For too long |   (hold)|
   
           Bb                Gm
Interlude: Oh, oh, oh, oh    Yeah, yeah, yeah
                      F                                 C
           Can I just stay here    Spend the rest of my days here
           Bb                Gm
           Oh, oh, oh, oh    Yeah, yeah, yeah
                        F                                 C
           Can't I just stay here    Spend the rest of my days here

                           Bb                                   Gm7
Chorus: 'Cause you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C
        For too long    For too long 
                          Bb                                   Gm7
        Yeah, you make me feel like    I've been locked out of hea-ven
                F               C          C  Dm         C  Bb 
        For too long    For too long |            |            |      

       F   Gm                   C  Dm
Outro: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, Ooh! 
       C   Bb            F    Gm                            C  Dm 
       Oh, yeah, yeah    Oh,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah,  yeah  Ooh!

Notes:

  • Level Of Ease: Fairly Easy - You will need to know one or two barre chords, depending on how you play F Major and Bb Major.
  • Once you get used to the timing, the song is pretty straight-forward. The chord changes in the Intro's and verses are pretty quick. If you count each bar as | 1& 2& 3& 4& | there are 2 chords played towards the end of each bar on &4&.

    1) 1st chord on the & of &4 (1 beat - quarter-note / crotchet)

    2) 2nd chord on the & of 4& ( half-beat - eighth-note / quaver)

    This timing is illustrated on the song chart above in the Intro. Remember that this pattern occurs during each Intro and each Verse... and at the end of the first and 3rd chorus.
  • If this is confusing, listen to the song and tap it out with your hands or feet using the 1& 2& 3& 4& count, and eventually it will fall into place.
  • Start slow: Set the metronome to a slow pace and count each beat playing the right chord on the right beat. As it starts to feel natural, speed up and continue this pattern till you reach the song tempo.
  • Stick with it. It may seem a little hard at first, but the more you play along and become familiar with the timing, the easier it will become to play.
  • If you are using an electric guitar and want to use a little overdrive or distortion, you can play the song using power chords, B♭5, G5, F5, C5, D5 and A5. Remember that power (5) chords are neither major or minor so they can be played over any minor or major chord and will still sound fine.
  • There are several other ways to play these power chords. These are probably the most common ways to play them without too much confusion with only 2 set shapes.
  • Beginners will find this song very easy to play using power chords, or a mixture of both. You can play the "easy" chords as you normally would, and power chord substituting barre chords if you haven't learned them yet.
Song Details:
  • Songwriters: Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Jeffrey Bhasker, Emile Haynie, Phil Lawrence, Ari Levine
  • Date: 2012
  • Lyrics Begin: Never had much faith in love or miracles.
  • Performing Artist: Bruno Mars
  • Single Release: October 1, 2012
  • Album: Unorthodox Jukebox
  • Released: December 7, 2012
Songs by Bruno Mars on this site:
Back to 2000s Songs Back To Top
Contact Me

A seasoned performer joyfully playing the guitar