Aug262022

Katie Gregson-MacLeod – Complex Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
C Am Em7 F

[Verse 1]
G
 I’m 21
C
 The edge is razor thin
Am
  Between being numb
Em
  And feeling everything
F
 Good days only serve
                 C
 as relief again

[Pre-Chorus 1]
        F
Now I’m watching as I
                   C
waste away my days and then
       F
It’s a cross dissolve
                         C
It’s a scene I’ve played before
        F
And the leading role that
I thought I’d hold
        Am         G     F
Doesn’t listen to me anymore

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[Chorus]
                    C
But I’m wearing his boxers
            Em
I’m being a good wife
            Am
We won’t be together
              F
But maybe the next life
                C
I need him like water
              Em
He lives on a landslide
             Am
I cry in his bathroom
                     F
He turns off the big light
                   C
I’m being the cool girl
               Em
I’m keeping it so tight
            Am
I carry him home while
                  F
My friends have a good night
                C
I need him like water
                   Em
He thinks that I’m alright
                Am
I’m not feeling human
               F
I think he’s a good guy
         C
But it’s complex
       Em       Am       F
It’s a complex
       C
It’s a complex
      Em       Am       F
I’m a complex

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

[Verse 2]
C
 Triangular
Em
  I can see them now
Am
  Three points at which
Em
  I let myself down
F
 I was just a girl,
 what’s the excuse now?
C
  Too regular
Em
  This pattern
Am
  I’ve been taking shelter in
Em
  Reaching new highs
F
 When I was 19
Em               C
  I wanted to die

[Pre-Chorus 2]
      F
Now I just want to kill you
But I don’t want to
              C
paint you the victim
      F
And I talk a good game
I’d die for you just the
              C
promise you’d listen

[Chorus]
                    C
But I’m wearing his boxers
            Em
I’m being a good wife
            Am
We won’t be together
              F
But maybe the next life
                C
I need him like water
              Em
He lives on a landslide
             Am
I cry in his bathroom
                     F
He turns off the big light
                   C
I’m being the cool girl
               Em
I’m keeping it so tight
            Am
I carry him home while
                  F
My friends have a good night
                C
I need him like water
                   Em
He thinks that I’m alright
                Am
I’m not feeling human
               F
I think he’s a good guy
         C
But it’s complex
       Em       Am       F
It’s a complex
       C
It’s a complex
      Em       Am       F
I’m a complex

How to play Complex: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for Complex by Katie Gregson-MacLeod on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

Complex by Katie Gregson-MacLeod keeps coming home to C major (no sharps or flats). You need 6 chords: C, Am, Em7, F, G and Em.

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

Beginner-friendly: almost every chord is an open chord on guitar, so you can play it without a capo or barre chords.