I Wont Give Up chords
by Jason MrazOriginal Published Key: E Major
Time Signature: 6/8
Tempo: 46 bpm
Vocal Range: B3 - G#5
Guitar Tuning: D A D G B e (Drop-D Tuning)
Skill Level: Intermediate
Guitar Chords in D Major: D, Dsus4, Em, G/D, Gmaj7, A, Asus4, Bm7, C, C#dim
Capo: 2nd fret (to play along with the video in E Major)
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
This is a snippet of the song featuring the TAB version of the first 9 bars leading into the song with Drop D tuning and Capo on 2.
Tuning: D-A-D-G-B-E
I Wont Give Up
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
G/D D D G/D D D G/D D D Asus4
Intro: 6/8 | - Riff| - | - Riff| - | - Riff| - | - Riff| |
A G/D D G/D D
1. When I look in-to your eyes It's like watch-ing the night sky
G/D D Asus4 A
Or a beau-ti-ful sun - rise There's so much they hold | |
G/D D G/D D
2. And just like them old stars I see that you've come so far
G/D D Asus4 A
To be right where you are How old is your soul? | |
G D Bm7 A
Chorus: I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough
G D Asus4 A
I'm giv-ing you all my love I'm still looking up | |
G/D D G/D D
3. And when you're need-ing your space To do some nav-i-gat-ing
G D Asus4 A
I'll be here pa-tient-ly wait-ing To see what you find | |
G D Bm7 A
Chorus: 'Cause even the stars they burn Some e-ven fall to the earth
G D Asus4 A
We've got a lot to learn God knows we're worth it | |
Gmaj7 Em Gmaj7 Em
No, I won't give | up... - | - |
Em
Bridge: I don't wan-na be some-one who walks a-way so eas-i-ly
A
I'm here to stay and make the dif-fer-ence that I can make
Em
Our dif-fer-en-ces they do a lot to teach us how to use
A Asus4 A
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake | |
C
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did in-tend
For us to work we did-n't break, we did-n't burn
C#dim
We had to learn how to bend with-out the world cav-ing in
C C#dim A D Dsus4 D
I had to learn what I've got And what I'm not and who I |am - | |
G D Bm7 A
Chorus: I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough
G D Asus4 A
I'm giv-ing you all my love I'm still looking up Still looking up
G D
Chorus: Well I won't give up (no I'm not) on us (giving up)
Bm7 A
God knows I'm tough (I am tough) e-nough (I am loved)
G D
We've got a lot (we're alive) to learn (we are loved)
A Asus4 A
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)| |
G D Bm7 A
Chorus: I won't give up on us Even if the skies get rough
G D A
I'm giv-ing you all my love I'm still looking up... - Fingers 1, 2, 3, 4: Notes played
- Unmarked strings: Play open
- x: Don't play string
G/D G/D (alt) D Bm7
e |---|---|-3-| e |-1-|---|---| e |---|-2-|---| e |-1-|---|---|
B |---|---|---| B |-1-|---|---| B |---|---|-3-| B |-1-|-2-|---|
G |---|---|---| G |---|-2-|---| G |---|-1-|---| G |-1-|---|---|
D |---|---|---| D |---|---|-3-| D |---|---|---| D |-1-|---|-3-|
A |---|-1-|---| A |---|---|---|x A |---|---|---| A |-1-|---|---|
D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|
Frets 1 2 3 3 4 5 1 2 3 2 3 4
C Em Asus4 A
e |---|---|---| e |---|---|---| e |---|---|---| e |---|---|---|
B |-1-|---|---| B |---|---|---| B |---|---|-4-| B |---|-3-|---|
G |---|---|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|-2-|---| G |---|-2-|---|
D |---|-2-|---| D |---|-3-|---| D |---|-1-|---| D |---|-1-|---|
A |---|---|-3-| A |---|-2-|---| A |---|---|---| A |---|---|---|
D |---|---|---|x D |---|-1-|---| D |---|---|---|x D |---|---|---|x
Frets 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Dsus4 C#dim Gmaj7 Gmaj7 (alt)
e |---|---|-4-| e |---|---|---| e |---|-3-|---| e |-1-|---|---|---|
B |---|---|-3-| B |-1-|---|---| B |---|---|---| B |---|-1-|---|---|
G |---|-1-|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|---|-1-|---|
D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|x D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|-1-|
A |---|---|---| A |---|---|-3-| A |---|-2-|---| A |---|---|---|---|x
D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|x D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|---|
Frets 1 2 3 2 3 4 1 2 3 2 3 4 5
- Fingers 1, 2, 3, 4: Notes played
- Unmarked strings: Play open
- x: Don't play string
G/D G/D (alt) D Bm7
|-3-|---|---| e |---|---|-1-| e |---|-2-|---| e |---|---|-1-| e
|---|---|---| B |---|---|-1-| B |-3-|---|---| B |---|-2-|-1-| B
|---|---|---| G |---|-1-|---| G |---|-1-|---| G |---|---|-1-| G
|---|---|---| D |-1-|---|---| D |---|---|---| D |-3-|---|-1-| D
|---|-1-|---| A x|---|---|---| A |---|---|---| A |---|---|-1-| A
|---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D x|---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D
3 2 1 5 4 3 3 2 1 4 3 2 Frets
C Em Asus4 A
|---|---|---| e |---|---|---| e |---|---|---| e |---|---|---| e
|---|---|-1-| B |---|---|---| B |-3-|---|---| B |---|-3-|---| B
|---|---|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|-2-|---| G |---|-2-|---| G
|---|-1-|---| D |---|-3-|---| D |---|-1-|---| D |---|-1-|---| D
|-1-|---|---| A |---|-2-|---| A |---|---|---| A |---|---|---| A
x|---|---|---| D |---|-1-|---| D x|---|---|---| D x|---|---|---| D
3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 Frets
Dsus4 C#dim Gmaj7 Gmaj7 (alt)
|-4-|---|---| e |---|---|---| e |---|-3-|---| e |---|---|---|-1-| e
|-3-|---|---| B |---|---|-1-| B |---|---|---| B |---|---|-2-|---| B
|---|-1-|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|---|---| G |---|-3-|---|---| G
|---|---|---| D x|---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D |-4-|---|---|---| D
|---|---|---| A |-3-|---|---| A |---|-2-|---| A x|---|---|---|---| A
|---|---|---| D x|---|---|---| D |---|---|---| D |---|---|---|---| D
3 2 1 4 3 2 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 Frets
Arrangement Details & Helpful Tips:
- Key Signature: E Major - 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
- Piano Chords: E, Esus4, F#m, A/E, Amaj7, B, Bsus4, C#m7, D, D#dim
- Time Signature: 6/8 — Six beats per bar each with a value of an eighth-note.
- Tempo: Slowly in 2
- Metronome: q. = 46 — the metronome beats on every dotted quarter-note | 1&& 2&& |
- Voice Range: B3 - G#5
- A dotted eighth-note rest at the start of the song is equivalent to 1 + 1/2 eighth-note rest, or 1 eighth-note + 1 sixteenth-note rest. So, if you count the bar as | 1& 2& 3& 4& 5& 6& | (6 eighth-notes OR 12 sixteenth-notes), the 1& is an eighth-note rest, and the 2 is a sixteenth-note rest... you come in on the & after the 2.
- The notes leading up to the first full bar of music is called an anacrusis.
- In the Intro wherever you see 'riff', you can continue to play the D chord if you don't want to play the riff.
- The hyphen between 2 chords in a bar means the chords share equal beat counts in that bar, which in this case is 3 beats per chord (6/8 time), e.g., | Gmaj7 - Em | means 3 beat counts on Gmaj7 and 3 beat counts on Em. (This is not to be confused with the metronome beat which sounds on every 3rd beat, in which case each chord will sound on one metronome beat.)
- Level Of Ease: Moderate depending on how you play it. Jason uses a capo on the 2nd fret and uses Drop D tuning on the 6th string.
Drop-D Tuning:
This simply means you tune the bottom E string (fattest string) down a whole tone (2 semitones) to D. The tuning from the lowest string to the highest string is D - A - D - G - B - E.
Because our bottom string is now D, it will alter the way we play certain chords that include the 6th string... see 'Drop-D Tuning" charts above.
Both D and Dsus4 include all 6 strings, with the low 6th string (D) adding depth.
Bm7 also sounds great using the open 6th string D, as it functions as the perfect 4th in the chord and adds a rich, open feel.
The following example is an open-chord version of Bm7 as opposed to the barre-chord version displayed in the charts:
Notice the Em chord - 1st finger is placed on the 2nd fret making the leading note an E, as D is not in the chord structure (D + 2 frets = E).
This simply means you tune the bottom E string (fattest string) down a whole tone (2 semitones) to D. The tuning from the lowest string to the highest string is D - A - D - G - B - E.
Because our bottom string is now D, it will alter the way we play certain chords that include the 6th string... see 'Drop-D Tuning" charts above.
Both D and Dsus4 include all 6 strings, with the low 6th string (D) adding depth.
Bm7 also sounds great using the open 6th string D, as it functions as the perfect 4th in the chord and adds a rich, open feel.
The following example is an open-chord version of Bm7 as opposed to the barre-chord version displayed in the charts:
e|---2--- ← F# B|---0--- ← B G|---2--- ← A D|---0--- ← D A|---2--- ← B D|---0--- ← open D
Notice the Em chord - 1st finger is placed on the 2nd fret making the leading note an E, as D is not in the chord structure (D + 2 frets = E).
e|---0--- ← E B|---0--- ← B G|---0--- ← G D|---2--- ← E A|---2--- ← B D|---2--- ← E
G/D means you're playing a G chord with a D in the bass.
🎸 If you're using Drop D tuning (low E string tuned down to D):
Be careful not to finger the 3rd fret on the 6th string (which is normally a G in standard tuning). In Drop D, that note becomes an F, which doesn’t belong in a G chord and won't sound right.
✅ Instead, leave the 6th string open — it’s now a low D, which fits nicely as the 5th of the G chord.
We've also included an alternative G chord shape used by Jason in the chord charts above.
The same applies to other chords which don't have a D note in their chord structure.
If you're not using Drop D tuning on the 6th string, just play all the chords as you normally would in standard tuning.
Use the Chord Transposer above if you want to play in any other key... you will need to re-tune the bottom string back to E if you do this.
🎸 If you're using Drop D tuning (low E string tuned down to D):
Be careful not to finger the 3rd fret on the 6th string (which is normally a G in standard tuning). In Drop D, that note becomes an F, which doesn’t belong in a G chord and won't sound right.
✅ Instead, leave the 6th string open — it’s now a low D, which fits nicely as the 5th of the G chord.
We've also included an alternative G chord shape used by Jason in the chord charts above.
The same applies to other chords which don't have a D note in their chord structure.
If you're not using Drop D tuning on the 6th string, just play all the chords as you normally would in standard tuning.
Use the Chord Transposer above if you want to play in any other key... you will need to re-tune the bottom string back to E if you do this.
🎼 A Closer Look at C#dim: How Do We Calculate Its Notes?
To build a C# diminished chord (C#dim), follow these simple steps:
- Start with the C# Major Scale:
C# – D# – E# – F# – G# – A# – B#
( E# and B# are enharmonic equivalents of F and C, but we name them this way to keep consistent scale spelling.) - Use the chord formula for a diminished triad:
1 – b3 – b5 (root, minor third, diminished fifth) - Take the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale:
C# – E# – G# - Apply the formula (1 - b3 - b5):
- Lower the E# by a half step → E
- Lower the G# by a half step → G
- Final notes: C# – E – G
Once you're familiar with this process and memorize the formulas, you'll be able to go from scale to chord quickly and confidently!
- If you are finger picking, the C#dim shown in the charts above — x4x020 (leading with the tonic, C#)— works well.
- If you are strumming, it is very difficult to avoid strings 4 and 6 which is required for the x4x020 version of the chord.
In this case you can use the first inversion of C#dim — xx2020 (E–G–C#–E), which is essentially an A7 chord without the low 'A' string. Even though you're not leading with the tonic (C#), it sounds great and is much easier to play.
e|---0--- ← E B|---2--- ← C# G|---0--- ← G D|---2--- ← E A|---x--- ← (mute) E|---x--- ← (mute)
Song Details:
- Songwriters: Jason Mraz, Michael Natter
- Lyrics Begin: When I look into your eyes, It's like watching the night sky or a beautiful sunrise.
- Genre: Folk blues, pop
- Featured Artist: Jason Mraz
- Single:
Recorded: 2011
Released: January 3, 2012 - Album: Love Is a Four Letter Word
Recorded: 2009–11
Released: April 13, 2012
