As played at Royal Albert Hall (24/3/2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v9WJNZB0Dyuw
Basically you can repeat the following nearly through the whole song:
[Dm] [//] [Dm] [//] [Bb] [//] [C] [A7/C#]
Dm Bb C A7/C# A A
E----(5)----(1)----(3)------0--------0--------x---5----------------|
B-----6------3------5------(5)------(5)-------x---5----------------|
G-----7------3------5-------5---or---6--------2---6----------------|
D-----7------3------5-------5--------5--------2---7----------------|
A-----5------1------3-------4--------4--------0---7----------------|
E-----x------x------x-------x--------x--------0---5----------------|
I think when Ed Sheeran strums he mostly uses the A,D,G strings only and when he picks the A,G,B strings.
[Verse 1]
[Dm]I'm not a rapper, I'm a singer with a flow
I've got a habit of spitting
quicker lyrics you know
You found me [Bb]ripping the writtens
out of the pages they sit in
And never [C]once I get bitten,
cause plagi[A7/C#]arism is hidden
Which I would [Dm]sit on the rhythm,
prisoner with a vision
Signs of a label, but didn't listen to any criticism
Thought you [Bb]knew but you didn't
Perk your ears up and listen
[C]Studio with a system
And you could say that I'm[A7/C#] driven
And now it's [Dm]on to the next saga,
we drink the best lager
I never tried to win you over
like your stepfather
[Bb]I do my own thing now, and get respect after
[C]And I'm avoiding cocain[A7/C#]e like it was Get Carter
[Dm]For four years I never had a place to stay
but it's safe to say that it kept me grounded like a paperweight
At [Bb]16 years old yeah I moved out of my home
I was [C]Macy Gray I tried to say g[A7/C#]oodbye and
I choked
And we've b[Dm]een sleeping at the subway station, sleeping with a movie star and adding to the population
Not my imagin[Bb]ation, I don't want to relax
But would it hurt your reput[A]ation,
A
if I put it on wax?
I take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back lov[Bb]e,
no[C]ooooh[A7/C#]h
[Verse 2]
Take it back with the rh[Dm]ythm and blues
and my rap pack I'll be singing the news,
trying to act like Jack Black when I repeat the school
[Bb]I'll make a beat with my feet by just singing a loop,
[C]bringing the lyrics to pr[A7/C#]ove that I can fit in these shoes
[Dm]And keeping the truth through the vocal booth,
stars burst out on the scene like an opal fruit,
they try to [Bb]take aim like beckham when he goes to shoot,
but then [C]again that's what they're supposed to do,
[A7/C#]and I'm supposed to be calm,
I tatt[Dm]ooed the lyrics onto my arm, whispering everything that happens is from now on,
I'll be [Bb]willing to start again by the end of the song,
still they're [C]claiming that I handled it w[A7/C#]rong,
but then I never had an e[Dm]nemy, except the NME,
but I'll be selling twice as many copies as the magazines will ever be,
[Bb]with only spectacles ahead of me on festival fees,
[C]healthier than a Dalm[A7/C#]atian, no pedigree,
[Dm]singing for the masses,
rubber dinghy rapids,
I keep this rapping a habit
and keep on passioning magic,
[Bb]I'm battling with respect,
I don't know if I'll hav[C]e it,
this songs from the he[A]art,
cover the plaque
I'll take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back no[Bb]w
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back love[Bb],
no[C]ooooh[A7/C#]h
[Verse 3] (Pick here! Use A,G,B strings and second version of A/C#)
Take it back now
[Dm]I don't ever wanna be perfect,
Cause I'm a singer that you
never wanna see shirtless
I ac[Bb]cept the fact that someone's got to win worst-dressed,
Taking my f[C]irst steps into the sc[A7/C#]ene,
giving me focus
[Dm]Putting on a brave face, like Timothy Dalton
Considering a name change,
thinking it was hopeless
Rh[Bb]yming over recordings,
avoiding tradition
Cause everyd[C]ay some lyrics
and a melo[A7/C#]dy can be written
Now[Dm] absence can make your heart break
But drinking absinthe can change your mind-state, vividly,
I need to let my liver be
[Bb]And I say it again,
Living life on the ed[C]ge,
with a closed han[A7/C#]d full of friends
Is good advice from a man
[Dm]who took his life on the road with me
and I hope to see him blowing up globally
Cause that's how it's supp[Bb]osed to be
screaming out vocally
It might seem [C]totally impossible
ach[A7/C#]ieving life's dreams
But,[Dm] but I just write schemes
I'm never having a stylist, giving me tight jeans
Madison Square Garde[Bb]n is where I might be
But more likely,
You'll find [C]me in the back
room of a [A7/C#]dive bar with my mates
Having a [Dm]pint with McDaid
Discussing records we made
And every single second knowing
that we'll never betray
The way we were r[Bb]aised
Remembering our background
Sat down
[C]That's how we put it out
It's [A7/C#]time to take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back lov[Bb]e,
noooo[C]ohh [A7/C#] uuuuuuuhh
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it b[A7/C#]ack for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back love,[Bb]
noo[C]ooohh[A7/C#]
[Verse 4] (Strum every chord only once here!)
My dreams [Dm]keep me awake at night
written in rhymes, and I[Dm], deliver the hype am I
just living the lie
with th[Bb]is you must know that the number's just sold woah
[C]Will keep me going through the to[A7/C#]ugh times, dream with me
[Dm]We forget 90 percent of it when we wake
But the o[Dm]ther 10 per cent it never fades
Dreaming dreams, [Bb]day to day goals,
Stay awake loads, try to make the c[C]ut like the
paper or razor bl[A7/C#]ade, oh, never give up
[Dm]And just remember just to hold out more
[Dm]Couple years ago
I couldn't just control that thought
You'd find me b[Bb]uskin' on the street
When it was cold outdoors
And now I'm sw[C]eating on the stage
of a [A7/C#]sold out tour
Writing [Dm]love songs for the sake of it,
never to make a hit
You c[Dm]an't fake talent and work ethic just to make it quick
[Bb]I'm not a rapper I'm a singer, I just take the piss and
[C]Most the other guys are kids that p[A7/C#]ose his little sister
has to ba[Dm]bysit, that's just a way it is
Dreams you o[Dm]wn, just set your goals
and have the utmost faith in it
[Bb]Tread your own path, you'll never make it as a follower,
[C]you'll never know where you will go or w[A7/C#]here you'll be tomorrow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v9WJNZB0Dyuw
Basically you can repeat the following nearly through the whole song:
[Dm] [//] [Dm] [//] [Bb] [//] [C] [A7/C#]
Dm Bb C A7/C# A A
E----(5)----(1)----(3)------0--------0--------x---5----------------|
B-----6------3------5------(5)------(5)-------x---5----------------|
G-----7------3------5-------5---or---6--------2---6----------------|
D-----7------3------5-------5--------5--------2---7----------------|
A-----5------1------3-------4--------4--------0---7----------------|
E-----x------x------x-------x--------x--------0---5----------------|
I think when Ed Sheeran strums he mostly uses the A,D,G strings only and when he picks the A,G,B strings.
[Verse 1]
[Dm]I'm not a rapper, I'm a singer with a flow
I've got a habit of spitting
quicker lyrics you know
You found me [Bb]ripping the writtens
out of the pages they sit in
And never [C]once I get bitten,
cause plagi[A7/C#]arism is hidden
Which I would [Dm]sit on the rhythm,
prisoner with a vision
Signs of a label, but didn't listen to any criticism
Thought you [Bb]knew but you didn't
Perk your ears up and listen
[C]Studio with a system
And you could say that I'm[A7/C#] driven
And now it's [Dm]on to the next saga,
we drink the best lager
I never tried to win you over
like your stepfather
[Bb]I do my own thing now, and get respect after
[C]And I'm avoiding cocain[A7/C#]e like it was Get Carter
[Dm]For four years I never had a place to stay
but it's safe to say that it kept me grounded like a paperweight
At [Bb]16 years old yeah I moved out of my home
I was [C]Macy Gray I tried to say g[A7/C#]oodbye and
I choked
And we've b[Dm]een sleeping at the subway station, sleeping with a movie star and adding to the population
Not my imagin[Bb]ation, I don't want to relax
But would it hurt your reput[A]ation,
A
if I put it on wax?
I take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back lov[Bb]e,
no[C]ooooh[A7/C#]h
[Verse 2]
Take it back with the rh[Dm]ythm and blues
and my rap pack I'll be singing the news,
trying to act like Jack Black when I repeat the school
[Bb]I'll make a beat with my feet by just singing a loop,
[C]bringing the lyrics to pr[A7/C#]ove that I can fit in these shoes
[Dm]And keeping the truth through the vocal booth,
stars burst out on the scene like an opal fruit,
they try to [Bb]take aim like beckham when he goes to shoot,
but then [C]again that's what they're supposed to do,
[A7/C#]and I'm supposed to be calm,
I tatt[Dm]ooed the lyrics onto my arm, whispering everything that happens is from now on,
I'll be [Bb]willing to start again by the end of the song,
still they're [C]claiming that I handled it w[A7/C#]rong,
but then I never had an e[Dm]nemy, except the NME,
but I'll be selling twice as many copies as the magazines will ever be,
[Bb]with only spectacles ahead of me on festival fees,
[C]healthier than a Dalm[A7/C#]atian, no pedigree,
[Dm]singing for the masses,
rubber dinghy rapids,
I keep this rapping a habit
and keep on passioning magic,
[Bb]I'm battling with respect,
I don't know if I'll hav[C]e it,
this songs from the he[A]art,
cover the plaque
I'll take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back no[Bb]w
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back love[Bb],
no[C]ooooh[A7/C#]h
[Verse 3] (Pick here! Use A,G,B strings and second version of A/C#)
Take it back now
[Dm]I don't ever wanna be perfect,
Cause I'm a singer that you
never wanna see shirtless
I ac[Bb]cept the fact that someone's got to win worst-dressed,
Taking my f[C]irst steps into the sc[A7/C#]ene,
giving me focus
[Dm]Putting on a brave face, like Timothy Dalton
Considering a name change,
thinking it was hopeless
Rh[Bb]yming over recordings,
avoiding tradition
Cause everyd[C]ay some lyrics
and a melo[A7/C#]dy can be written
Now[Dm] absence can make your heart break
But drinking absinthe can change your mind-state, vividly,
I need to let my liver be
[Bb]And I say it again,
Living life on the ed[C]ge,
with a closed han[A7/C#]d full of friends
Is good advice from a man
[Dm]who took his life on the road with me
and I hope to see him blowing up globally
Cause that's how it's supp[Bb]osed to be
screaming out vocally
It might seem [C]totally impossible
ach[A7/C#]ieving life's dreams
But,[Dm] but I just write schemes
I'm never having a stylist, giving me tight jeans
Madison Square Garde[Bb]n is where I might be
But more likely,
You'll find [C]me in the back
room of a [A7/C#]dive bar with my mates
Having a [Dm]pint with McDaid
Discussing records we made
And every single second knowing
that we'll never betray
The way we were r[Bb]aised
Remembering our background
Sat down
[C]That's how we put it out
It's [A7/C#]time to take it back now
[Chorus]
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it [A7/C#]back for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back lov[Bb]e,
noooo[C]ohh [A7/C#] uuuuuuuhh
[Dm]Mmh Mmh Mmh Mmh
Come on and take it back now[Bb]
Come [C]on and take it b[A7/C#]ack for us[Dm]
[Dm]Don't you fade into the back love,[Bb]
noo[C]ooohh[A7/C#]
[Verse 4] (Strum every chord only once here!)
My dreams [Dm]keep me awake at night
written in rhymes, and I[Dm], deliver the hype am I
just living the lie
with th[Bb]is you must know that the number's just sold woah
[C]Will keep me going through the to[A7/C#]ugh times, dream with me
[Dm]We forget 90 percent of it when we wake
But the o[Dm]ther 10 per cent it never fades
Dreaming dreams, [Bb]day to day goals,
Stay awake loads, try to make the c[C]ut like the
paper or razor bl[A7/C#]ade, oh, never give up
[Dm]And just remember just to hold out more
[Dm]Couple years ago
I couldn't just control that thought
You'd find me b[Bb]uskin' on the street
When it was cold outdoors
And now I'm sw[C]eating on the stage
of a [A7/C#]sold out tour
Writing [Dm]love songs for the sake of it,
never to make a hit
You c[Dm]an't fake talent and work ethic just to make it quick
[Bb]I'm not a rapper I'm a singer, I just take the piss and
[C]Most the other guys are kids that p[A7/C#]ose his little sister
has to ba[Dm]bysit, that's just a way it is
Dreams you o[Dm]wn, just set your goals
and have the utmost faith in it
[Bb]Tread your own path, you'll never make it as a follower,
[C]you'll never know where you will go or w[A7/C#]here you'll be tomorrow
