Skip to song content

Ed Sheeran - Empire State Of Mind Ukulele Chords

ChordsG, C, D, Em, B
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

Yeah,I’moutofGBrooklyn,nowI’mdowninTribeca
RightnexttoDeNirobutI’llbehoodforever
I’mthenewCSinatraandsinceImadeithere
Icanmakeitanywhere,yeah,theylovemeeverywhere
IusedtocopinGHarlem,holamyDominicanos
RightthereuponBroadway,broughtmebacktothatMcDonalds
TookittomyCstashspot,560Statestreet
CatchmeintheDkitchenlikeaSimmonswhippingpastry
CruisingdownG8thstreet
Off-whiteLexusdrivingsoslowbutBKisfromTexas
MeI’moutthatCBed-Stuy,homeofthatboyBiggie
NowIliveonBillboardandIbroughtmyboyswithme
DSaywhatupEmtoTyTy,stillsippingmaitais
SittingDcourtsideKnicksandNetsgivemehighfives
HomieIbeBSpikedout,Icantripareferee
TellbymyattitudethatImostdefinitelyfrom
CNewYork
DConcretejunglewheredreamsEmaremade,oh
There’snothingyouGcan’tdo
Nowyou’reinCNewYork
DThesestreetswillmakeyouEmfeelbrandnew
BiglightswillGinspireyou
Nowyou’reinCNewYork,NewYork,NewYork
DCatchmeatGtheXwithOGataYankeegame
Yeah,ImadetheYankeehatmorefamousthanaYankeecan
YoushouldknowICbleedBlue,butI’mnotaCrip,though
ButIgotagangofpeoplewalkingwithmycliquethough
DWelcometoGthemeltingpot,cornerswherewesellingrocks
AfrikaBambaataastuff,homeofthehip-hop
Yellowcab,Cgypsycab,dollarcab,hollaback
Forforeignersitain’tfair,theyactliketheyforgothowtoadd
8DmillionGstoriesoutthereinthenaked
City,it’sapityhalfofy’allwon’tmakeit
MeIgottaCplugSpecialEd“IGotItMade”
IfJeezy’spayingLeBron,I’mpayingDwyaneWade
D3EmdiceCee-lo,3cardMarley
LaborDayDParade,restinpeaceBobMarley
StatueofBLiberty,longlivetheWorldtrade
Longlivethekingyo,I’mfromtheEmpireof
CNewYork
DConcretejunglewheredreamsEmaremade,oh
There’snothingyouGcan’tdo
Nowyou’reinCNewYork
DThesestreetswillmakeyouEmfeelbrandnew
BiglightswillGinspireyou
Nowyou’reinCNewYork,NewYork,NewYork
CLightsisblinding,thegirlsneedblinders
SoDtheycanstepoutofboundsquick
ThesidelinesisEmlinedwithcasualties
Whosipthelifecasually,thenGgraduallybecomeworse
Don’tbitetheapple,Eve
CCaughtupinthein-crowd,nowyou’rein-style
AndintheDwintergetscoldenvoguewithyourskinout
TheEmcityofsinisapityonawhim
GoodGgirlsgonebad,thecity’sfilledwith’em
CMommytookabustripandnowshegotherbustout
DEverybodyrideher,justlikeabusroute
Em”HailMary”tothecity,you’reavirgin
AndGJesuscan’tsaveyou,lifestartswhenthechurchends
CBroughtupinschool,graduatedtothehighlife
DBallplayers,rapstars,addictedtothelimelight
Bgotyoufeelinglikeachampion
Thecityneversleeps,betterslipyouaAmbien
InCNewYork
DConcretejunglewheredreamsEmaremade,oh
There’snothingyouGcan’tdo
Nowyou’reinCNewYork
DThesestreetswillmakeyouEmfeelbrandnew
BiglightswillGinspireyou
Nowyou’reinCNewYork,NewYork,NewYork
COnehandintheairforthebigcity
Streetlights,bigdreamsalllookingpretty
DNoplaceintheworldthatcancompare
EmPutyourlightersintheair,everybodysayB”yeah!”
CNewYork
DConcretejunglewheredreamsEmaremade,oh
There’snothingyouGcan’tdo
Nowyou’reinCNewYork
DThesestreetswillmakeyouEmfeelbrandnew
BiglightswillGinspireyou
Nowyou’reinCNewYork,NewYork,DNewYork
EmNewYork
DConcretejunglewheredreamsCaremade,oh
There’snothingyoucan’tdo
Nowyou’reinEmNewYork
DThesestreetswillmakeyouCfeelbrandnew
Biglightswillinspireyou
Nowyou’reinCNewYorkD
Nowyou’reinEmNewGYork
Nowyou’reinCNewYorkD
AlbumSingle
GenresPop
Year2013
KeyG
DifficultyEasy

How to play Empire State Of Mind on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Ed Sheeran - Empire State Of Mind on ukulele requires 5 chords and 9 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↑↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

Empire State Of Mind uses these transitions most often: C → D (22), G → C (18), and D → Em (16). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with G - C chord transition.

1. G → C chord transition

Switching from G to C:

  1. While playing G, first lift your index finger and middle finger.
  2. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 18 times.

G to C

2. C → D chord transition

Switching from C to D:

  1. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Place index finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Place middle finger on C string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 22 times.

C to D

3. D → G chord transition

Here's how to move from D to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from C string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 4 times.

D to G

4. D → Em chord transition

Here's how to move from D to Em:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from C string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 4.

This transition appears in the section, played 16 times.

D to Em

5. D → B chord transition

To move from D to B:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger on C string from fret 2 to fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 4.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

6. B → C chord transition

Here's how to move from B to C:

  1. While playing B, first lift your index finger and middle finger.
  2. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 4 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 4 times.

7. Em → G chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from C string fret 4 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 12 times.

8. Em → B chord transition

To move from Em to B:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to C string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from C string fret 4 and place it on G string fret 4.

This transition appears in the section.

9. C → Em chord transition

Switching from C to Em:

  1. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on C string fret 4.
  2. Place index finger on A string fret 2.
  3. Place middle finger on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section.

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Empire State Of Mind.

  • Empire State Of Mind includes 88 chord transitions, 9 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • Empire State Of Mind contains 5 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how Empire State Of Mind connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → D: 11%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (28%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 28%
    • D → Em: 17%