Major view
E major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Ed Sheeran - One - Chord
Key E major – C# minor Chords A, D, G, Bm, D/C#, Em Easy key A (capo 7)
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Key: E | Dbm | C#m
Capo: 0
D
D
Tell me that you turned down the man
A Bm
Who asked for your hand
G D
Cause you're waiting for me
D
And I know, you're gonna be away a while
A Bm G D
But I've got no plans at all to leave
A G
And would you take away my hopes and dreams
Em G A
And just stay with me
D
All my senses come to life
D/C#
While I am stumbling home as drunk as I
Bm A
Have ever been, and I'll never leave again
G A
Cause you are the only one
D
And all my friends have gone to find
D/C#
Another place to let their hearts collide
Bm A
Just promise me you'll always be a friend
G A
Cause you are the only one
D
Take my hand and my
A Bm
heart and soul I will
G D
Only have these eyes for you
You know everything changes
A
But we'll be strangers
Bm G D
If we see this through
A G
And you could stay within these walls and bleed
Em G A
And just stay with me
D
All my senses come to life
D/C#
While I am stumbling home as drunk as I
Bm A
Have ever been, and I'll never leave again
G A
Cause you are the only one
D
And all my friends have gone to find
D/C#
Another place to let their hearts collide
Bm A
Just promise me you'll always be a friend
G A
Cause you are the only one
G D
I'm stumbling off drunk
A
Getting myself lost
Bm
I am so gone
G
So tell me the way home
D A
I listen to sad songs, singing about love
And where it goes wrong
D
All my senses come to life
D/C#
While I am stumbling home as drunk as I
Bm A
Have ever been, and I'll never leave again
G A
Cause you are the only one
D
And all my friends have gone to find
D/C#
Another place to let their hearts collide
Bm A
Just promise me you'll always be a friend
G A
Cause you are the only one
End of song Play again?
Ed Sheeran - One Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Ed Sheeran – One: key and chord analysis
The song opens on D and ends on A. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
C# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = B (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 E major and C# 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 E or to C#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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | E | Tonic — home | E · G# · B | — |
| i | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 2× |
| ii | F#m | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | F# · A · C# | — |
| bIII | G | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | G · B · D | 16× |
| iii | G#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | G# · B · D# | — |
| III | G# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G# · B# · D# | — |
| IV | A | Subdominant — moves away from home | A · C# · E | 22× |
| V | B | Dominant — strongest pull home | B · D# · F# | — |
| v | Bm | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | B · D · F# | 11× |
| vi | C#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | C# · E · G# | — |
| bVII | D | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | D · F# · A | 16× |
| bVII | D/C# | bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord | D · F# · A | 6× |
| vii° | D#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | D# · F# · A | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | C#m | Tonic — home | C# · E · G# | — |
| bII | D | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | D · F# · A | 16× |
| bII | D/C# | Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord | D · F# · A | 6× |
| ii° | D#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | D# · F# · A | — |
| III | E | Relative major — the bright side | E · G# · B | — |
| iii | Em | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B | 2× |
| iv | F#m | Subdominant — moves away from home | F# · A · C# | — |
| #IV | G | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | G · B · D | 16× |
| v | G#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | G# · B · D# | — |
| V | G# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | G# · B# · D# | — |
| VI | A | Submediant — warm colour | A · C# · E | 22× |
| VII | B | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | B · D# · F# | — |
| vii | Bm | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | B · D · F# | 11× |
Analysis
The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 6 different chords appear 73 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. D, G, D/C# 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
- E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
- Over A, land on A, C#, E — 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 G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- On D, follow the chord's notes (D · F# · A) 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 E major shapes
- No capo — open E shapes
- Capo 2 + D shapes
- Capo 4 + C shapes
With C# minor shapes
- Capo 4 + Am shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
The song's harmonic story
Starting on D, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are A, D, G, Bm; read them as IV–bVII–bIII–v in E or VI–bII–#IV–vii in C#m. D briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Ending on A, the song seals E as home.
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.
Ed Sheeran - One Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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