When I Was Young Chords
by The Animals
When I Was Young by The Animals is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of Em. It uses the chords Em, D, G, Gm, F and Bb. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.
Em(8x)(palm mute)
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-7-7-7-7-
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verse
Em D
(1)the rooms were so much colder then
(2)i smoked my first cigarette at ten
(3)i met my first love at thirteen
my father was a soldier then
and for girls i had a bad yen
she was brown and i was pretty green
and times were very hard
and i had quite a ball
and i learned quite a lot
riff 1
Em(2x)
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-17h19p17--15h17p15-14h15p14-12-
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2x
Em (riff 1)
when I was young
bridge
G Em D
when i was young it was more important pain more pain but i laughed so much louder yeah
interlude
Gm F Gm F Gm F Gm
na na na na na
Chorus
Bb Gm F
when I was young it was more important pain more pain though i laughed so much louder yeah
riff 1
Gm(2x)
-15h17p15--14h15p14-12h14p12-10-
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2x
Gm (riff 1)
when I was young
verse 4
Gm F
my faith was so much stronger then
Gm F
i believed in fellow men
Gm F
and i was so much older then
coda
Gm
When I was young