Skip to song content
Chordier homepage

Frank Sinatra - It Was a Very Good Year Chords

Chord reference Dm, D#, F, C
Rhythm tips ↓↑-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

When I was [Dm]seventeen it was a [D#]very good year, It was a [Dm]very good year For [F]small town girls and [D#]soft summer nights. We’d [D]hide from the lights On the [C]village green when I was [D]seventeen.

When I was [Dm]twentyone, it was a [D#]very good year, It was a [Dm]very good year For [F]city girls who [D#]lived up the stair, With [D]perfumed hair That [C]came undone, when I was [D]twenty-one.

When I was [Dm]thirty-five it was a [Dm]very good year, It was a [Dm]very good year For [F]blue blooded girls of [D#]independant means. We’d [D]ride in limousines Their [C]chauffeurs would drive when I was [D]thirty-five.

But now the [Dm]days are short, I’m in the [D#]autumn of the year, And now I [Dm]think of my life As vint[F]age wine from [D#]old kegs, From the [D]brim to the dregs It poured [C]sweet and clear; it was a [D]very good year!

Artist Frank Sinatra
Album September of My Years
Genres Jazz
Year 1965
Key Dm

How to Play It Was a Very Good Year on Guitar?

Frank Sinatra - It Was a Very Good Year can be played in the key of Dm using the Dm, D#, F, C chords.

  • For Dm, To play Dm, press fret 1 on the low E string with finger 2, press fret 1 on the high E string with finger 2, let A, D ring open, mute G, B.
  • For D#, To play D# | Eb, press fret 3 on the low E string with finger 3, press fret 1 on the D string with finger 2, press fret 3 on the high E string with finger 3, let G ring open, mute A, B.
  • For F, To play F, barre fret 1 from the B string to the high E string with finger 1, press fret 1 on the low E string with finger 4, let A ring open, mute D, G.
  • For C, To play C, press fret 1 on the B string with finger 2, let low E, G, high E ring open, mute A, D.

Barre: Use your index finger to press multiple strings on the same fret, keeping your finger flat.

You can play It Was a Very Good Year with the ↓↑-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ strumming pattern.