When I Was Young

	  		 
Capo on 2 

Chords (these are the fingerings I’m used to, but if you prefer others, try them out!) 
D — x00232 
Dsus4 — (after D chord) hammer on e string: x00232 to x00233 
G — 320033 
G* — hammer on A string: 300033 to G (320033) 
Bm — 224432 
A — x02220 
Em — 022000 
Gadd9 — 320035 (just play a regular G if this is too much of a stretch) 
Dsus2 — hammer on E string:  x00230 to D (x00232) 

Intro: 
D       Dsus4   D       Dsus4   D 

        D               G       D 
When I was young there was fire in my lungs, 
        Bm              A       G* 
and I just wanted someone to listen 
D                       G               D 
Some ears to ignite with my pen and my tongue, 
        Bm              A       G* 
Well I knew it was all just a wish… 
        Bm              A       G* … 
But that don’t mean it couldn’t exist 

D                       G       D 
Just seventeen, yeah I gave up my gun 
        Bm              A       G* 
to play my guitar in the trenches 
        D                       G       D 
So I sang in the face of a man-eating sun, 
        Bm      A       G* 
That Florida heat is a bitch, 
        Bm              A       D 
But I wouldn’t trade nothing for it 

Intro 

G*              D 
When I was young… 
G*              D 
When I was young… 
                A               G       D 
I got myself broke and beat down, but stood up 
                A               G       D 
left too many words on the tip of my tongue, 
                A               G       Bm 
But oh, I was singing at the top of my lungs, 
G* … 
every night. 

D                       G               D 
Spinning wheels turning, I fell into love, 
        Bm              A       G 
swallowed up in a sea of forgiveness, 
                D 
I’ve got a crooked killer heart, 
        G               D 
I’ve got, bastard blood, 
        Bm      A       G 
But my God, oh my God, I forget, 
        Bm                      A       D 
And you keep paying for these second-hand sins 

G               D 
When I was young… 
G               D 
When I was young… 
                A               G       D 
I was hiding in corners to stay out of sight 
                A               G       D 
Giving my best but still falling behind 
                A               D       Bm      A     
   G 
But I was reborn in the dust and the pines, oh my… 
        D 
When I was young 

Bm                      G                       D 
Oh and now I’m, getting pushed and pulled apart 
Bm                      G                       D 
And I don’t know, where it ends or where it starts 
                        Em                      G 
And all of those neon lights, outside of my window 
                Em                              G 
Tell me it’s not eleven yet, it’s getting close, though 
                Bm      A       G       Gadd9 
And now I just don’t know what… to do 

D                               G       D 
Then I said, “Matt, you just gotta get back 
        Bm              A       G 
to those nights when you sat on the cause-way” 
        D                       G       D 
All you had was six strings and a heart that beat 
        Bm              A               G 
and you knew that it had to mean something, 
        Bm              A               G 
Yeah, you knew that it had to mean something, 
        Bm              A       G       (A) 
?I just knew it was better than nothing, 

G               D 
When I was young… 
G               D 
When I was young… 
                        A       G       D 
We played rock and roll music on broken guitars, 
                        A       G       D 
Spent the whole night laying out under stars, 
                        A               G       D 
She told me she loved me with her hand on her heart, 
                        A               G       D 
Now I’m turning these pages and holding on tight 

                A       G       D 
Living this life like I’m never gonna die, 
                A       G       D 
Living this life like I’m never gonna die, 
                A       G            Bm    A     
G       Gadd9 
Living this life like I’m never gonna die, die, die… 
D       Dsus4   D                       Dsus2   D 
When I was young 


Listen to the record to determine when to hammer on the Dsus4 and the G* chords. 
The chords in parentheses are optional. 

I hope this made sense, this is the first tab I’ve ever posted. 
Leave any suggestions in the comments (or email me at [email protected]) and I’ll  
see what I can do!