Ed Sheeran - Tenerife Sea - Chord

Key Ab major – F minor Chords A9, E5, Gb4, B4, Dbm7 Easy key B

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Capo 0

E5              Gb4   A9
   You look so wonderful in your dress
E5              Gb4     A9
   I love your hair like that
E5             Gb4
   The way it falls
        A9
on the side of your neck
Dbm7             B4           A9
     Down your shoulders and back

E5            Gb4
   We are surrounded
   A9
By all of these lies
     E5         Gb4   A9
And people who talk too much
E5                  Gb4
   You've got that kind
    A9
Of look in your eyes
       Dbm7        B4           A9
As if no one knows anything but us


  A9                E5           B4
Should this be the last thing I see
   A9                     E5        B4
I want you to know it's enough for me
       A9                  E5
'Cause all that you are is all 
                B4
That I'll ever need

           E5  Gb4  A9
I'm so in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love

E5              Gb4   A9
   You look so beautiful in this light
E5            Gb4     A9
   Your silhouette over me
E5              Gb4
   The way it brings out
      A9
The blue in your eyes
        Dbm7    B4  A9
Is the tenerife    sea

    E5          Gb4
And all of the voices 
    A9
Surrounding us here
           E5          Gb4      A9
They just fade out as you take a breath
 E5           Gb4   A9
Just say the word and will disappear
Dbm7      B4    A9
Into the wilderness

  A9                E5           B4
Should this be the last thing I see
   A9                     E5        B4
I want you to know it's enough for me
       A9                  E5
'Cause all that you are is all 
                B4
That I'll ever need

           E5  Gb4  A9
I'm so in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love


 Dbm7  A9    E5 B4
Lumiiiière, darling
 Dbm7  A9        B4
Lumiiiière over me

 Dbm7  A9    E5 B4
Lumiiiière, darling
 Dbm7  A9        B4
Lumiiiière over me

 Dbm7  A9    E5 B4
Lumiiiière, darling
 Dbm7  A9        B4
Lumiiiière over me

  A9                E5           B4
Should this be the last thing I see
   A9                     E5        B4
I want you to know it's enough for me
       A9                  E5
'Cause all that you are is all 
                B4
That I'll ever need

           E5  Gb4  A9
I'm so in love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love
       E5    Gb4  A9
So in love, love,   love, love
       E5  Gb4  A9
So in love

E5              Gb4   A9
   You look so wonderful in your dress
E5              Gb4     A9
   I love your hair like that
E5           Gb4    A9
   And in a moment I knew you were back

End of song Play again?

Ed Sheeran - Tenerife Sea Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea: key and chord analysis

The song opens on E5 and ends on A9. Its chords belong to both Ab major and Fm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Ab major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = G (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = Db (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

F minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Db (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Eb (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between Ab major and F minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to Ab or to Fm; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from Ab major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Ab	Tonic — home	Ab · C · Eb	—
bII7	A9	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	A · C# · E · G · B	46×
ii	Bbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Bb · Db · F	—
bIII	B4	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	B · D# · F#	19×
iii	Cm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C · Eb · G	—
III	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	—
IV	Db	Subdominant — moves away from home	Db · F · Ab	—
iv7	Dbm7	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	Db · Fb · Ab · Cb	10×
V	Eb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Eb · G · Bb	—
bVI	E5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · B	39×
vi	Fm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F · Ab · C	—
bVII	Gb4	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Gb · Bb · Db	27×
vii°	Gdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G · Bb · Db	—

Seen from F minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Fm	Tonic — home	F · Ab · C	—
bII	Gb4	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Gb · Bb · Db	27×
ii°	Gdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · Db	—
III	Ab	Relative major — the bright side	Ab · C · Eb	—
#III7	A9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E · G · B	46×
iv	Bbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · Db · F	—
#IV	B4	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D# · F#	19×
v	Cm	Minor dominant — soft pull	C · Eb · G	—
V	C	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C · E · G	—
VI	Db	Submediant — warm colour	Db · F · Ab	—
vi7	Dbm7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · Fb · Ab · Cb	10×
VII	Eb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Eb · G · Bb	—
#VII	E5	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · B	39×

Analysis

The key pair is Ab major and its relative F minor (4 flats). 5 different chords appear 141 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. A9, Gb4, B4, Dbm7 are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

Ab major pentatonic and F minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Ab – Bb – C – Eb – F): start from Ab for a brighter phrase, from F for a bluesier one.
Over A9, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over E5, land on E, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gb4, land on Gb, Bb, Db — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On A9, follow the chord's notes (A · C# · E · G · B) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With Ab major shapes

Capo 1 + G shapes
Capo 4 + E shapes
Capo 6 + D shapes

With F minor shapes

Capo 1 + Em shapes
Capo 3 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

3 semitones up
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on E5, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are A9, E5, Gb4, B4; read them as bII7–bVI–bVII–bIII in Ab or #III7–#VII–bII–#IV in Fm. A9 briefly darkens the picture: neapolitan bii — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonic. It closes on A9, letting the Ab side have the last word.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.