Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love - Chord

Key Eb major – C minor Chords Cm, Eb, Ab, Bb, G#, D#, A Easy key G

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Capo 0

              Cm
I need your love
             Ab
I need your time
                  Eb
When everything's wrong
              Bb
You make it right
          Cm
I feel so high
         Ab
I come alive
             Eb                  Bb
I need to be free with you tonight
             Cm
I need your love

Cm                       Ab
I take a deep breath everytime I pass your door
Eb
I know you're there but I can't see you anymore
Cm                        Ab
And that's the reason you're in the dark
Eb
I've been a stranger ever since we fell apart
Cm                 Ab
I feel so helpless here
Eb
Watch my eyes are filled with fear
Cm                             Ab
Tell me do you feel the same
Eb
Hold me in your arms again

     Cm
I need your love
             Ab
I need your time
                  Eb
When everything's wrong
              Bb
You make it right
          Cm
I feel so high
         Ab
I come alive
             Eb                   Bb
I need to be free with you tonight
             Cm
I need your love

Cm  G#  D#  A
Cm  Cm

Cm                           Ab
Now I'm dreaming, will ever find you now
Eb
I walk in circles but I'll never figure out
Cm                       Ab
What I mean to you, do I belong
Eb
I try to fight this but I know I'm not that strong
Cm                     Ab
And I feel so helplessly
Eb
Watch my eyes are filled with fear
Cm                            Ab
Tell me do you feel the same
Eb
Hold me in your arms again

            Cm
I need your love
             Ab
I need your time
                  Eb
When everything's wrong
              Bb
You make it right
          Cm
I feel so high
         Ab
I come alive
             Eb                   Bb
I need to be free with you tonight
             Cm
I need your love

Cm
All the years, all the times

You were never been to blame
Eb
And now my eyes are perfect

And now my heart is closing
Cm
And all the tears

All the lies, all the waste

I've been trying to make it change
Eb
And now my eyes are perfect
     Cm
I need your love
             Ab
I need your time
                  Eb
When everything's wrong
              Bb
You make it right
          Cm
I feel so high
         Ab
I come alive
             Eb                   Bb
I need to be free with you tonight
             Cm
I need your love

End of song Play again?

Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ellie Goulding – I Need Your Love: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Cm and ends on Cm. Its chords belong to both Eb major and Cm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

Eb major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Ab (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = Bb (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C minor side because it both starts and finishes on Cm and Cm is heard 25 times against 19 for Eb. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from Eb 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 Eb or to Cm; 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 Eb major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	Eb	Tonic — home	Eb · G · Bb	18×
I	D#	Tonic — home	D# · G · A#	1×
ii	Fm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F · Ab · C	—
iii	Gm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G · Bb · D	—
V/vi	G	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Cmsecondary dominant	G · B · D	—
IV	Ab	Subdominant — moves away from home	Ab · C · Eb	16×
IV	G#	Subdominant — moves away from home	G# · B# · D#	1×
#IV	A	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E	1×
V	Bb	Dominant — strongest pull home	Bb · D · F	8×
vi	Cm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C · Eb · G	25×
vii°	Ddim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D · F · Ab	—

Seen from C minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Cm	Tonic — home	C · Eb · G	25×
ii°	Ddim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · Ab	—
III	Eb	Relative major — the bright side	Eb · G · Bb	18×
III	D#	Relative major — the bright side	D# · G · A#	1×
iv	Fm	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · Ab · C	—
v	Gm	Minor dominant — soft pull	G · Bb · D	—
V	G	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G · B · D	—
VI	Ab	Submediant — warm colour	Ab · C · Eb	16×
VI	G#	Submediant — warm colour	G# · B# · D#	1×
#VI	A	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E	1×
VII	Bb	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	Bb · D · F	8×

Analysis

The key pair is Eb major and its relative C minor (3 flats). 7 different chords appear 70 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. A step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

Ab Eb EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×16
Bb Cm EbV → videceptive cadence CmVII → iAeolian arrival ×8
G# D# EbIV → Iplagal cadence CmVI → III ×1

The move to watch is Ab → Eb, heard 16 times. From the Cm side it is VI → III; from the Eb side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

Eb major pentatonic and C minor pentatonic are the same five notes (Eb – F – G – Bb – C): start from Eb for a brighter phrase, from C for a bluesier one.
Over Cm, land on C, Eb, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Eb, land on Eb, G, Bb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Ab, land on Ab, C, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

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 Eb major shapes

Capo 1 + D shapes
Capo 3 + C shapes
Capo 6 + A shapes

With C minor shapes

Capo 3 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones up
1 semitone down · capo 1 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Cm; the ear learns where home is within a second. Cm, Eb, Ab, Bb carry the song: vi–I–IV–V relative to Eb, i–III–VI–VII relative to Cm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on Ab → Eb (IV → I in Eb, VI → III in Cm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on Cm, the song seals Cm 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.