The Killers - When You Were Young: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "When You Were Young" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

Learn When You Were Young Guitar Chords and Lyrics by The Killers

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "When You Were Young" smoothly on your guitar.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

E                    F#     G#m
You sit there in your heart-ache
B                E
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
                  F#       G#m
To save you from your old ways
B
You play forgiveness
 E
Watch it now Here he comes

Chorus:
    E                       F# G#m
He doesnt look a thing like Jesus
      B
But he talks like a gentleman
E
Like you imagined
              F# G#m B E
When you were young

Can we climb this mountain? I don't know
Higher now than ever before
I know we can make it if we take it slow
Let's take it easy
Easy now, watch it go

Chorus:
We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young

And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young

            C#m
The say the devil's water, it ain't so sweet.
     E                         G#m
You don't have to drink right now.
D#m                   G#m
But you can dip your feet.
F#                          E F# G#m B E
Every once in a little while.

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes

Chorus:
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined
When you were young
(Talks like a gentleman)
(Like you imagined when)
When you were young

I said he doesnt look a thing like Jesus
He doesnt look a thing like Jesus
But more than you'll ever know


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

C#m

Guitar chord C#m

D#m

Guitar chord D#m

E

Guitar chord E

F#

Guitar chord F#

G#m

Guitar chord G#m

B

Guitar chord B

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "When You Were Young" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "When You Were Young" by The Killers.

The Killers Song List