Guitar Chords for Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

Learn how to play Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud on guitar.

• 799 words

• By Scott Mathson

You’re about to get an in-depth dive into “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. Learn the chords needed to play this song on guitar, accompanied by the full lyrics, video tutorial, free downloadable guide, song information, and more.

Check it out:

Accompanying video tutorial:

Guitar Tuning - Half-Step down from Standard:

  • EbAbDbGbBbEb (D#G#C#F#A#D#)

Chords needed

All of Thinking Out Loud is made up of only a handful of chords, making this a perfect beginner’s song. Here are the chords.

Eb ––––2–––––0–––––0–––––x–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––
Bb ––––3–––––3–––––3–––––1–––––0–––––2–––––3–––––
Gb ––––1–––––2–––––0–––––1–––––0–––––0–––––4–––––
Db ––––0–––––0–––––0–––––1–––––2–––––2–––––4–––––
Ab ––––0–––––0–––––1–––––0–––––2–––––0–––––2–––––
Eb ––––0–––––1–––––2–––––0–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––
       D    D/F#   G     A     Em    A7    Bm

*X=Muted String

Lyrics and chords

D           D/F#                    G            A
When your legs don't work like they used to before
D      D/F#                        G   A
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
D         D/F#                      G               A
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
D         D/F#              G               A
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
D               D/F#            G    A        D  D/F#  G  A
And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
D             D/F#                   G  A       D  D/F#  G  A
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23
­­­
  Em                                                A7         D
  And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
  Em                        A7
  Maybe just the touch of a hand
  Em                               A7           Bm
  Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day
  Em                          A7
  And I just wanna tell you I am
­­­
            D D/F#   G  A                    D   D/F#  G
    So, honey, now Take me into your loving arms
    A                            D         D/F#   G
    Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
    A                              D   D/F#
    Place your head on my beating heart
    G           A
    I'm thinking out loud
         Bm  A      G     D/F#   Em A7  D
    Maybe we found love right where we are
­­­
D         D/F#                       G         A
When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades
D        D/F#                   G    A
And the crowds don't remember my name
D        D/F#        G                   A
When my hands don't play the strings the same way (mmm...)
D      D/F#                       G   A
I know you will still love me the same
D              D/F#                   G  A       D     D/F#  G  A
'Cause, honey, your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen
D         D/F#                     G  A        D  D/F#  G  A
And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory
­­­
  Em                                                A7         D
  And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
  Em                         A7
  Maybe it's all part of a plan
  Em                                A7          Bm
  Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
  Em                         A7
  Hoping that you'll understand
  ­­­
    D  D/F#   G
    That, baby, now
    A                        D  D/F#  G
    Take me into your loving arms
    A                            D         D/F#  G
    Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
    A                             D   D/F#
    Place your head on my beating heart
    G        A
    Thinking out loud
      Bm  A      G    D/F#   Em  A7  D
    Maybe we found love right where we are (oh, oh)
­­­
      D D/F# G A
      La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lo­ud
    ­­­
    D  D/F#   G
    So, baby, now
    A                        D  D/F#  G
    Take me into your loving arms
    A                            D         D/F#  G
    Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
    A                                   D   D/F#
    Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart
    G           A
    I’m thinking out loud
           Bm   A     G     D/F#   Em  A7  D
    But maybe we found love right where we are
          Bm    A     G     D/F#   Em  A7  D
    Oh, baby, we found love right where we are
     Bm    A     G    D/F#   Em  A7  D
    And we found love right where we are

Song information for:

Thinking Out Loud

  • Artist: Ed Sheeran
  • Released: 24 September, 2014
  • Album: x
  • Songwriter(s): Ed Sheeran, Amy Wadge, and Julian Williams
  • Producer(s): Jake Gosling
  • Length: 4:41 (album version)

Information from Wikipedia page


This is my take on the song. My tutorial is based off of this particular Ed Sheeran video: https://youtu.be/f6Cswdm601A I do not own any rights to the song, yet my video, tutorial, and other learning materials here are all from me.

Thanks and I hope this was helpful for you! I recommend you check out the accompanying video to learn this song’s hammer-on/off techniques and some other insight into playing this song with more pizazz. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more guitar tutorials! Best of luck on your learning and feel free to reach out if you ever need help/have questions.

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Get the free, downloadable chord guide and tutorial:

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