Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords C, Am, F, E, Em, G Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

C  G  Am  F

      C
The truth is bulletproof, there's no foolin' you
Em
I don't dress the same
Am
Me and who you say I was yesterday
      F
Have gone our separate ways

C
Left my livin' fast somewhere in the past
         Em
'Cause that's for chasin' cars
 Am
Turns out open bars lead to broken hearts
     F
And going way too far

C
  I know I used to be crazy
E
  I know I used to be fun
Am
  You say I used to be wild
F
  I say I used to be young
C
  You tell me time has done changed me
E
  That's fine, I've had a good run
Am
  I know I used to be crazy
F
  That's 'cause I used to be young

C
Take one, pour it out, it's not worth cryin' about
      Em
The things you can't erase
     Am
Like tattoos and regrets, words I never meant
    F
And ones that got away

C
Left my livin' fast somewhere in the past
     Em
And took another road
 Am
Turns out crowded rooms empty out as soon
         F
There's somewhere else to go, ooh

C
  I know I used to be crazy
E
  I know I used to be fun
Am
  You say I used to be wild
F
  I say I used to be young
C
  You tell me time has done changed me
E
  That's fine, I've had a good run
Am
  I know I used to be crazy
F
  That's 'cause I used to be young

C     E   Am                     F
 Ooh, ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
     C    E     Am                      F
Yeah, woah, woah, ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh

C
  I know I used to be crazy
E
  Messed up but, God, was it fun
Am
  I know I used to be wild
F
  That's 'cause I used to be young
C
  Those wasted nights are not wasted
E
  I remember every one
Am
  I know I used to be crazy
F
  That's 'cause I used to be young
C
  You tell me time has done changed me
E
  That's fine, I've had a good run
Am
  I know I used to be crazy
F
  That's 'cause I used to be young

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – Used To Be Young: key and chord analysis

The song opens on C and ends on F. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the E major side because E is heard 9 times while C#m never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to E or to C#m; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	9×
i	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	4×
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	14×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
bIII	G	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	G · B · D	1×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
III	G#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	—
iv	Am	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	A · C · E	14×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	—
bVI	C	Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	C · E · G	14×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	—
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	—
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	9×
iii	Em	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	E · G · B	4×
#III	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	14×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
#IV	G	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	G · B · D	1×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V	G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D#	—
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	—
vi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	14×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	—
#VII	C	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G	14×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 6 different chords appear 56 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C, Am, F, G are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On C, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is C; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is C, Am, F, E — bVI–iv–bII–I from the E side, #VII–vi–#III–III from the C#m side. C briefly darkens the picture: borrowed from the parallel minor. Ending on F, the song seals E as home.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.

Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano

Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.

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