Key: D
Introduction:
Dm G
Yesterday when I was young
C F
the taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
Dm E
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
E7 Am
the way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame
Dm G
The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
C F
I always built alas on weak and shifting sand
Dm E
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day
E7 Am
and only now I see how the years ran away
Dm G
Yesterday when I was young
C F
so many drinking songs were waiting to be sung,
Dm E
so many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
E7 Am
and so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see
Dm G
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out
C F
I never stopped to think what life was all about
Dm E
and every conversation I can now recall
E7 Am
concerned itself with me and nothing else at all
Dm G
Yesterday the moon was blue
C F
and every crazy day brought something new to do
Dm E
I used my magic age as if it were a wand
E7 Am
and never saw the waste and emptiness beyond
Dm G
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
C F
and every flame I lit too quickly quickly died
Dm E
The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away
E7 Am
and only I am left on stage to end the play
Dm G
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
C F
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue
Dm E E7 Am
The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young