Jul152021

John Mayer – Shouldnt Matter But It Does Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

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[Verse 1]
C                     Em
  Should’ve been open,
  should’ve done more
Am
  Should’ve learned a lesson
            F
  from the year before
C                       Em
  Should've been honest,
  should’ve just cried
Am
  Should’ve told me there
       F
  was nothing left inside

[Chorus 1]
        G                 Am    F
Now the road keeps rollin’ on forever
        G                  Am   F
And the years keeps pulling us apart
G            Am
 We lost something,
          F
 I still wonder where it was
F                     F
  It shouldn't matter,
             G             C
  shouldn't matter but it does

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[Interlude]
C  Em  Am  F

[Verse 2]
C                          Em
  You should've just broken,
  you should've come clean
Am
  You should've been sad
                 F
  instead bein' so fuckin' mean
C                      Em
  It shouldn't be easy,
  but it shouldn't be hard
Am
  You shouldn't be a stranger
            F
  in your own backyard

[Chorus 2]
        G                 Am    F
Now the road keeps rollin’ on forever
        G                  Am   F
And the years keeps pulling us apart
G             Am             F
 I know it's over, I'm just sayin'
 this because
F                     F
  It shouldn't matter,
             G
  shouldn't matter but it does

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Interlude]
F      F C G
F      F C G
F      F C G
F C Am  C  G

[Verse 3]
C
  I shouldn't be angry,
     Em
  I shouldn't hold on
Am
  I shouldn't leave messages
       F
  in every little song
C                        Em
  It could've been always,
  it could've been me
Am
  We could've been busy
            F
  naming baby number three

[Chorus 3]
        G                 Am    F
Now the road keeps rollin’ on forever
        G                  Am   F
And the years keeps pulling us apart
G            Am
If it's on someone,
     F
I blame the both of us
F                     F
  It shouldn't matter,
             G
  shouldn't matter but it
Em                   Am
  It shouldn't matter,
  shouldn't matter but it
F                     F
  It shouldn't matter,
             G             C
  shouldn't matter but it does

[Outro]
C  Em  Am  F
C  Em  Am  F
C  Em  Am  F
C  Em  Am  F

How to play Shouldnt Matter But It Does: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for Shouldnt Matter But It Does by John Mayer on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

Shouldnt Matter But It Does by John Mayer is built around C major (no sharps or flats), with 5 chords in all: C, Em, Am, F and G.

The backbone of the song is C – Em – Am – F (I – iii – vi – IV in C major). In solfa, that is doh – mi – lah – fah. Practise these 4 changes until they feel natural and you can play most of it.

Beginner-friendly: on guitar almost every chord is an open shape, which makes this a good song to learn early on.