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)
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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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
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
End of song Play again?
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.
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.
| 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 | — |
| 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.
Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl 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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