Ed Sheeran - Dive - Chord

Key Ab major – F minor Chords Am, F, C, G, G/B, Em Easy key Eb (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C  Am  F  G

              C
Well maybe I came on too strong
         Am             F  G
Maybe I waited too long
          C
Maybe I played my cards wrong

Oh just a little bit wrong
     Am  F
Baby I     apologize for it

F
  I could fall, or I could fly
Am
  Here in your aeroplane
Em
  And I could live, I could die
 F
Hanging on the words you say
F
  And I’ve been known to give my all
Am
  And jumping in harder than
 G
Ten thousand rocks on the lake

                  C
So don’t call me baby
            Am     F
Unless you mean it
           G           C
And don’t tell me you need me
                Am
If you don’t believe it
    F                G
So let me know the truth
   Am     G         G/B  C
Before I dive right into you

          C
You’re a mystery
                          
I have travelled the world 
             Am                 F      G
And there’s no other girl like you, no one
             C
What’s your history
C                                    Am
Do you have a tendency to lead some people on
          F           G
‘Cause I heard you do

F
  I could fall, or I could fly
Am
  Here in your aeroplane
Em
  And I could live, I could die
 F
Hanging on the words you say
F
  And I’ve been known to give my all
Am
  And lie awake, every day
 G
Don't know how much I can take

                  C
So don’t call me baby
            Am     F
Unless you mean it
           G           C
And don’t tell me you need me
                Am
If you don’t believe it
    F                G
So let me know the truth
   Am     G         G/B  C
Before I dive right into you

C  C  Am  F  G
C  C  Am  F  G

F
  I could fall, or I could fly
Am
  Here in your aeroplane
Em
  And I could live, I could die
 F
Hanging on the words you say
F
  And I’ve been known to give my all
Am
  Sitting back, looking at
G
Every mess that I've made

                  C
So don’t call me baby
            Am      F
Unless you mean it
           G           C
And don’t tell me you need me
                Am
If you don’t believe it
    F                G
So let me know the truth
   Am     G         G/B  C
Before I dive right into you
   Am     G         G/B  C
Before I dive right into you
   Am     G         G/B  C
Before I dive right into you

End of song Play again?

Ed Sheeran - Dive Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ed Sheeran – Dive: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on C. 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)
#7 = E (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F minor side because the major V chord points straight at Fm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Ab major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

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	—
bii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	24×
ii	Bbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Bb · Db · F	—
iii	Cm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	C · Eb · G	—
V/vi	C	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Fmsecondary dominant	C · E · G	21×
IV	Db	Subdominant — moves away from home	Db · F · Ab	—
V	Eb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Eb · G · Bb	—
bvi	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	3×
vi	Fm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F · Ab · C	—
VI	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	22×
vii°	Gdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G · Bb · Db	—
V/iii	G	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	20×
V/iii	G/B	Secondary dominant V/iii — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	5×

Seen from F minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Fm	Tonic — home	F · Ab · C	—
I	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	22×
ii°	Gdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · Db	—
V/v	G	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	20×
V/v	G/B	Secondary dominant V/v — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	5×
III	Ab	Relative major — the bright side	Ab · C · Eb	—
#iii	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	24×
iv	Bbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · Db · F	—
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	21×
VI	Db	Submediant — warm colour	Db · F · Ab	—
VII	Eb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Eb · G · Bb	—
#vii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	3×

Analysis

The key pair is Ab major and its relative F minor (4 flats). 6 different chords appear 95 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Fm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from Ab, the same C is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Fm. G, G/B act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

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 Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When C comes, swap the scale's Eb for E: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is Am, F, C, G — bii–VI–V/vi–V/iii from the Ab side, #iii–I–V–V/v from the Fm side. C is the interesting twist: in Ab it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Fm it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Ending on C, the song seals Ab 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.