Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords G, D, Em, C, Cadd9, Am Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

Em              G
She played the fiddle in an Irish band
         D            Em
But she fell in love with an English man
 Cadd9                      G
Kissed her on the neck and then I took her by the hand
      D
Said baby I just want to dance

               Em            G
I met her on Grafton street right outside of the bar
              D                  C
She shared a cigarette with me while her brother played the guitar
               Em                    G
She asked me what does it mean the Gaelic ink on your arm
            D
Said it was one of my friend's songs do you want to drink on
          Em                 G
She took Jamie as a chaser, Jack for the fun
        D                     C
She got Arthur on the table, with Johnny riding as shotgun
  Em               G
Chatted some more, one more drink at the bar
      D
Then put Van on the jukebox, got up to dance, you know

      C             G
She played the fiddle in an Irish band
         D            Em
But she fell in love with an English man
 C                      G
Kissed her on the neck and then I took her by the hand
      D
Said baby I just want to dance
                       C     G     D    Em
With my pretty little Galway Girl
                         C    G    D    Em
You're my pretty little Galway Girl

              Em                    G
You know she beat me at darts and then she beat me at pool
              D                    C
And then she kissed me like there was nobody else in the room
        Em                       G
As last orders were called, was when she stood on the stool
       D
After dancing the Cèilidh, singing to trad tunes
         Em                   G
I never heard Carrickfergus ever sung so sweet
     D                      C
Acapella in the bar using her feet for the beat
             Am                 G
Oh, I could have that voice playing on repeat for a week
             D
And in this packed out room, swear she was singing to me

      C            G
She played the fiddle in an Irish band
         D            Em
But she fell in love with an English man
 C                       G
Kissed her on the neck and then I took her by the hand
      D
Said baby I just want to dance
                       C      G
With my pretty little Galway Girl
 D               Em         C     G
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl
 D               Em         C     G
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl
 D               Em         C     G     D   Em
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl

          Em                    G
Now we've outstayed our welcome and it's closing time
       D                     C
I was holding her hand, her hand was holding mine
     Em                   G
Our coats both smell of smoke, whisky and wine
       D
As we fill up our lungs with the cold air of the night
   Em               G
I walked her home then she took me inside
        D                 C
Finish some Doritos and another bottle of wine
    Em                       G
I swear I'm going to put you in a song that I write
         D
About a Galway Girl and a perfect night

      C            G
She played the fiddle in an Irish band
         D            Em
But she fell in love with an English man
 C                      G
Kissed her on the neck and then I took her by the hand
      D
Said baby I just want to dance
                       C     G
With my pretty little Galway Girl
D               Em         C     G
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl
 D               Em         C     G
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl
 D               Em         C     G     D   Em
My, my, my, my, my, my, my Galway Girl

C  G  D  Em
C  G  D  Em
C  G  D  Em
C  G  D  Em

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Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Em and ends on Em. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (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 A 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 A or to F#m; 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 A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	—
i	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	1×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	—
bIII	C	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	26×
bIII	Cadd9	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G · D	1×
iii	C#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C# · E · G#	—
III	C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	34×
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
v	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	30×
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
bVII	G	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	G · B · D	34×
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
bII	G	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	G · B · D	34×
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	—
iii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	1×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	—
#IV	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	26×
#IV	Cadd9	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · D	1×
v	C#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	C# · E · G#	—
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	34×
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—
vii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	30×

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 6 different chords appear 126 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. G, C, Cadd9 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

A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Em, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On G, follow the chord's notes (G · B · D) 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 A major shapes

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Em, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is G, D, Em, C — bVII–IV–v–bIII from the A side, bII–VI–vii–#IV from the F#m side. G briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). The final chord is Em; the ear comes to rest in A.

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.