Yesterday When I Was Young - chords, tab and comments
At the bottom you'll find a link to the complete lyrics.
"Hier Encore" was born in 1964, and Kretzmer wrote the english lyrics in -69. The song has been tranlated into several other languages, but Kretzmer's version has been recorded by the greatest variety of artists. It's among the most wanted funeral songs in the world. Myself, I want this.
This song invites to extensive use of bass strings for harmony transitions. I also raise it from E minor to A minor after 4th verse, playing an interlude. But here are the basic chords:
Am D7
yesterday when I was young
Gmaj7 Fmaj7
the taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
Am Am7 B7
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
Em Em/G E7
the way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame
Am C D7
the thousand dreams I dreamed the splendid things I planned
Gmaj7 Cmaj7
I always built alas on weak and shifting sand
Fmaj7 B7
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
Em Em/G E7
and only now I see how the years ran away