When We Were The New Boys Chords

KeyC Capo1st fret TuningStandard Difficulty Plays411

When We Were The New Boys by Rod Stewart is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of C with a capo on the 1st fret. It uses the chords C, G, F, Am and Dm. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
C
Text
16
Speed
  			
 

Intro C C G C 

Verse 
              C 
With laughing eyes I do recall 
      G                      C 
Every face that crammed this hall 
            C 
And in this room our hats were hung 
               G                      C 
And words were written and songs were sung 

       F                C 
And we held our glasses high 
       F        G            Am 
And we dared to reach for the sky 
       Dm               Am 
And we never would grow old 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 

Verse 
             C 
And on these streets we were like kings 
              G                  C 
We'd roll and tumble, fight and sing 
             C 
And in these smoky pubs the yarns were spun 
                G                  C 
And many a sweetheart was lost and won 

             F                          C 
And on these green fields we played for pride 
           F      G        Am      
No quarter given, no compromise 
        Dm                 Am 
We were lovers and we were sons 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 

Verse 
            C 
Behind this cellar door on cheap guitars 
              G                    C 
We played our blues till the early hours 
       C 
No one listening but a few old friends 
         G                     C 
We never dreamed it could ever end 


             F                    C 
This was our moment, this was our space 
           F          G              Am 
This was a jewel of a time to have graced 
            Dm                 Am 
But they're all sweet memories now 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 


Bridge 
G      Am             F 
All my life I've been running 
                      C 
down the side of this hill 
G                      Am           
But way down deep in my heart 
               F        C       F 
don't want the water to ever be still 


Verse 
          C 
All these friends have long since gone 
          G                     C 
Blown and scattered like autumn leaves 
         C 
Some are lawyers and some are thieves 
         G              C 
Some are now behind the sun 

         F               C 
But I'll never, never be afraid 
         F      G      Am 
From the cradle to the grave 
             Dm                      Am 
I learned my lesson and I learned it well 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 

C C G C 
C C G C 

Outro 
       F                C 
And we held our glasses high 
       F        G             Am 
And we dared to reach for the sky 
       Dm               Am 
And we never would grow old 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 
                Dm F C 
When we were the new boys 

C C G C 
C C G C 
    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante