1. [Dm] Yester-[Gm] day when I was [C] young
The taste of life was [F] sweet as rain upon my [Bb] tongue
I teased at life as [Gm] if it were a foolish [A] game
The [A7] way the evening [Dm] breeze may tease a candle flame
The [D7] thousand dreams I [Gm] dreamed, the splendid things I [C] planned
I always built a [F] las on weak and shifting [Bb] sands
I lived by night, and [Gm] shunned the naked light of [A] the day
And [A7] only now I [Dm] see the years that ran a-[D7] way
ĐK: Yester-[Gm] day when [Bb] I was [C] young
So many happy [F] songs were waiting to be [Bb] sung
So many wayward plea-[Gm] sure that lay in store for [A] me
And [A7] so much pain [Dm] my dazzled eyes refused to [D7] see
I ran so fast that [Gm] time and [Bb] youth at last ran [C] out
I never stopped to [F] think what life was all a-[Bb] bout
And every conver-[Gm] sation that I can now re-[A] call
Con-[A7] cerned itself with [Dm] me, and nothing else at all
2. Yester-[Gm] day the moon was [C] blue
And every crazy [F] day brought something new to [Bb] do
I used my magic [Gm] age as if it were a [A] wand
And [A7] never saw the [Dm] waste and emptiness be-[D7] yond
The games of love I [Gm] played with [Bb] arrogance and [C] pride
And every flame I [F] lit, so quickly quickly [Bb] died
The friends I made all [Gm] seemed somehow to drift a-[A] way
And [A7] only I am [Dm] left on stage to end the [D7] play
* There are so many [Gm] songs in [Bb] me that won't be [C] sung
I feel the bitter [F] taste of tears upon my [Bb] tongue
The time has come for [Gm] me to pay for yester-[A] day
when [A7] I was [Dm] young