When I Was Young

Intro: 
 
(Em) 
/ / / / / / / / 
 
[5X: 1: bass (eighth notes) w/cymbal 
2: electric guitar (tune low (E) down to (D) and back up) 
3: acoustic guitar enters 
4: violin enters] 
 
Verse 1: 
 
(Em) (D) 
The rooms were so much colder then 
(Em) (D) 
My father was a soldier then 
(Em) (D) 
And times were very hard 
(Em) 
When I was young 
 
Riff 1 [guitar and violin, arranged for two guitars]: 
 
(Em) 
v v v v v 
------------12-14-12---10-12-10---9--10--9----|-7-- 
------------10-12-10---8--10-8----7--8---7----|-5-- 
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(young) 
 
/(D) (Em) [Riff 1] 
When I was young 
 
Verse 2: 
 
I smoked my first cigarette at ten 
And for girls I had a bad yen 
And I had quite a ball 
When I was young [Riff 1] 
 
(Em) 
/ / / / / / / / 
 
Bridge: 
 
(G) (Em) 
When I was young it was more important 
(D) 
Pain, more pain, but I laughed so much louder, yeah 
(Em) 
When I was young [Riff 1] 
(D) (Em) 
When I was young [Riff 1] 
 
Verse 3: 
 
I met my first love at thirteen 
She was brown and I was pretty green 
And I learned quite a lot 
When I was young [Riff 1] 
/(D) (Em) [N.(C).] 
When I was young 
 
Instrumental break: 
 
[key changes to Gm]: 
 
(Gm) (F) [3X] 
/ / / / / / / / 
(Gm) 
/ / / / / / / / 
 
Chorus [in Bb] 
 
(Bb) (Gm) 
When I was young it was more important 
(F) 
Pain, more pain, though I laughed so much louder, yeah 
(Gm) 
When I was young 
 
Riff 2 [guitar and violin, arranged for two guitars]: 
 
(Gm) 
v v v v v 
------------15-17-15---14-15-14---12-14--12---|-10- 
------------13-15-13---11-13-11---10-11--10---|-8-- 
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(young) × × × parts do not always track 
in parallel fifths 
 
(Gm) [N.(C).] 
When I was young 
 
Verse 4 [chords implied by bass]: 
 
(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 
(Gm) [acoustic guitar strums (Gm) chord; violin enters] 
When I was young 
When I was young 
 
Coda: 
 
[band re-enters] 
 
(Gm) 
When I was young [repeat to fade]