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When You're Twenty-One chords by
Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
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N/A
Key: E major
Intro 1
D
D

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A
A

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D
D

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Verse 1
D
D

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A
A

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It was Christmas Eve
Esus4
Esus4

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D
D

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G
G

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the night your poor Ma died,

And I reckoned she prayed all of her life
D
D

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that she could raise you to be 21
A
A

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And then you never moved into town,
D
D

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boy, we just kept on living out here
A
A

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Dm
Dm

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D
D

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Oh, and life's been good and bad, son,
G
G

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for the past twenty -one years.
A
A

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Oh, I remember now when

you were a little fella,
D
D

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and I used to take my boy to church.
G
G

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D
D

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And when you sang the Christmas carols
A
A

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with the other boys,
D
D

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oh, it gave Daddy's heart a jerk.
F
F

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D
D

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G
G

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Why, you sounded a lot like a little angel,
D
D

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A
A

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boy, and a papa you sure looked sweet,

even though your little ragged britches
D
D

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came halfway to your
A
A

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G
G

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skinny little knees.

Oh, and it made your papa proud, boy,
A
A

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D
D

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and it filled my whole heart
A
A

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with joy.

Preacher'd step down and

he'd pat your head
D
D

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and he'd say,

My, my, got yourself a fine little boy.
G
G

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Well, maybe my life down here's about over,
D
D

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boy.

Maybe my days on earth's
A
A

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about done.

Maybe now I'll see your mama
D
D

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live with the Lord, boy.
G
G

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Merry Christmas to you and
Outro 1

a happy birthday, son.
G
G

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D
D

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A
A

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Chords
  • D

  • A

  • Esus4

  • G

  • Dm

  • F

Capo: 2

Transpose: 0

0

Autoscroll20%

Frequently asked questions

The original key of When You're Twenty-One by Carl Perkins is E major.

The primary chords used in When You're Twenty-One are E, B, F#sus4, A, Em, G.

To play in the original key, place your capo on the 2 fret.

Yes, this version uses open chords like E, B, F#sus4, A, making it a great song for beginner guitarists.

The tempo of When You're Twenty-One is approximately 105 beats per minute.

You can easily change the key of When You're Twenty-One using our Transpose button located in the toolbar. This will automatically update all chord diagrams on the page to match your new key.

Yes! Click the Print icon to generate a clean, one-page version of the chords and lyrics for When You're Twenty-One. This is perfect for practicing offline or adding to a physical songbook.

Yes, we have integrated a Mini-Tuner directly on this page. Use it to quickly check your string pitch (Standard Tuning: E A D G B E) before you start playing along with Carl Perkins.

Absolutely. Click the Save or Heart icon to add When You're Twenty-One to your account. You can access all your saved songs under My Library at any time.

You can view the full chord sheet and lyrics for When You're Twenty-One by Carl Perkins on this page for free. We provide high-quality, verified chords to help you start playing immediately.