Ed Sheeran - Photograph - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords E, C#m, B, A Easy key G

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Capo 0

E   C#m  B   A

           E
Loving can hurt
           C#m
Loving can hurt sometimes
             B                          A
But it's the only thing that I know
             E
When it gets hard
                    C#m
You know it can get hard sometimes
          B                                 A
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive

C#m                     A
We keep this love in a photograph
E                       B
We make these memories for ourselves
          C#m          
Where our eyes are never closing
     A
Our hearts were never broken
     E                         B
And times forever frozen still

           E
So you can keep me inside the pocket of your
B
Ripped jeans holding me closer till our
C#m                            A
Eyes meet, you won't ever be alone
                         E
Wait for me to come home

            E
Loving can heal
           C#m
Loving can mend your soul
             B                         A
And it's the only thing that I know
                    E
I swear it will get easier
                           C#m
remember that with every piece of ya
             B                                   A
It is the only thing we take with us when we die

C#m                     A
We keep this love in a photograph
E                       B
We make these memories for ourselves
          C#m          
Where our eyes are never closing
     A
Our hearts were never broken
     E                      B
And times forever frozen still

           E
So you can keep me inside the pocket of your
B
Ripped jeans holding me closer till our
C#m                              A
Eyes meet, you won't ever be alone

           E
And if you hurt me that's ok baby, only
B
Words bleed inside these pages you just
C#m                             A
Hold me and I won't ever let you go


                     C#m
Wait for me to come home
                     A       
Wait for me to come home
                     E
Wait for me to come home
                     B
Wait for me to come home

           E                               
Oh you can fit me inside the necklace you got when you were
B           
16 next to your heartbeat where I 
C#m                                   A
Should be, keep it deep within your soul
           E
And if you hurt me that's ok baby only 
B
Words bleed inside these pages you just
C#m                             A
Hold me and I won't ever let you go
          E                 
When I'm away I will remember how you
B                                      C#m
Kissed me under the lamp post back on sixth street 
                                 A
Hearing you whisper through the phone
                     E
Wait for me to come home

End of song Play again?

Ed Sheeran - Photograph Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ed Sheeran – Photograph: key and chord analysis

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

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)

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: to us the song feels closer to the E major side because it both starts and finishes on E and E is heard 18 times against 16 for C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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.

Seen from E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	18×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V/vi	G#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to C#msecondary dominant	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	16×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	16×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	16×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	16×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	18×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
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	16×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	16×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 4 different chords appear 66 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

A E EIV → Iplagal cadence C#mVI → III ×13
B C#m EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×8
B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×3
A C#m EIV → vi C#mVI → iVI → i ×3

The move to watch is A → E, heard 13 times. From the E side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the C#m side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C#m, land on C#, E, G# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over B, land on B, D#, F# — 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 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

3 semitones up
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on E, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. E, C#m, B, A carry the song: I–vi–V–IV relative to E, III–i–VII–VI relative to C#m. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on A → E (IV → I in E, VI → III in C#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on E, letting the E side have the last word.

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.