Video lesson
Here’s my video lesson showing you how to play this song:
Sheet music for this song will be returning shortly!
- The sheet music for this song is temporarily unavailable while I move it over to Musicnotes.com, a sheet music service that is providing licensing for my "song" arrangements.
- Want me to priortize this song, so the sheet music is ready sooner? Click the button below and let me know – this helps me know which songs to work on next!
To learn more about my library of song sheets & instructional PDFs, click here.
Editor’s notes
This video is a guitar lesson for “7 Years” by Lukas Graham, including chords, tablature, lyrics, and strumming pattern.
Chord progression cheat-sheet
The basic progression used for most of the song (verse & chorus sections) is as follows:
Em . . D/F# G . . . C . . . . . D .
There are a few exceptions:
- During the most minimal / soft intros, the D/F# is omitted (i.e., switch from the Em directly to a G). The first chorus is an example of this.
- At the end of some of the choruses, the final “D” isn’t played (stay on C). The first chord is an example of this.
- The bridge section during the “60 years old” portion uses different progression. See the notes below about this.
Lyrics & chords
INTRO
Em . . . G . . . C . . . C . D .
Em . . . G . . . C . . . C . . . (play with riff)
CHORUS
Em G C
Once I was seven years old my mama told me
D
Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely
Em G C
Once I was seven years old...
VERSE
Em D/F# G
...It was a big, big--- world... but we thought we were bigger
C D
...Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker
Em D/F# G
...By eleven smoking herb and drinking burning liquor
C D
...Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure
Em D/F# G C
Once I was eleven years old my daddy told me
D
Go get yourself a wife or you'll be lonely
Em D/F# G C
Once I was eleven years old...
(use same verse & chorus chords for entire song)
I always had that dream like my daddy before me
So I started writing songs, I started writing stories
Something about that glory just always seemed to bore me
'Cause only those I really love will ever really know me
Once I was twenty years old, my story got told
Before the morning sun, when life was lonely
Once I was twenty years old...
I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure
'Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major
I got my boys with me at least those in favor
And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later
Once I was twenty years old, my story got told
I was writing about everything, I saw before me
Once I was twenty years old...
Soon we'll be thirty years old, our songs have been sold
We've traveled around the world and we're still roaming
Soon we'll be thirty years old...
BRIDGE
Em G
...I'm still learning about life, my woman brought children for me
C D
...So I can sing them all my songs, and I can tell them stories
Em G
...Most of my boys are with me... Some are still out seeking glory...
C Bm
...And some I had to leave behind, my brother I'm still sorry...
C D/F# Em D
Soon I'll be sixty years old, my daddy got sixty-one
G
Remember life and then your life becomes a bigger one
C D/F# Em
...I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once
B7sus4 B7
...I hope my children come and visit once or twice a month
C D/F# Em D
Soon I'll be sixty years old, will I think the world is cold
G
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
C D/F# Em C D
Soon I'll be sixty years old...
Soon I'll be sixty years old, will I think the world is cold
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
Soon I'll be sixty years old...
(back to normal chorus chords)
(repeat first chorus, end)
Notes & tabs
Basic chords used
E ||---0----3----0----2----
B ||---0----0----1----3----
G ||---0----0----0----2----
D ||---2----0----2----0----
A ||---2----2----3---------
E ||---0----3--------------
Em G C D
Intro riff
See PDF.
Playing chords at the start of the the walk-down
If you want to start the walk-down riff by strumming a chord (instead of a single note), use these tabs. This applies to the D-chord and G-chord.
See PDF.
Em-to-G Walk-up
A rather recognizable part of the chord progression involves this walk-up transition from Em to G, by means of adding a D-major chord with a F# bass note. Here are a few ways to play that.
At its simplest, we’re talking about this F# on the 2nd fret of the 6th string. You can play this note by itself between the two chords and capture the spirit of this walk-up.
See PDF for diagram.
Strictly speaking, the full chords in question look like this – but when all strings are played, I find the bass transition is drown out by the higher treble notes.
See PDF for diagram. <!-- E ||---0---------2----3----- B ||---0---------3----0----- G ||---0---------2----0----- D ||---2---------0----0----- A ||---2---------0----2----- E ||---0---------2----3-----
Em D/F# G -->
One way I like to play it is as follows – I’m playing only the 4-5 bottom strings, so that the transition is a bit more full sounding. If this is new to you, it’s important to recognize that the D/F# segment you’re playing is part of that “full” D/F# chord listed above.
See PDF for diagram.
Get my lessons in your inbox!
Every couple weeks I send out an email newsletter with links to whatever new lessons I've made. Sign up here and stay in the loop!
Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!
If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).
You can also support me on Patreon. For only $5/month you'll get access to a print-friendly PDF of my notes for each new lesson (view free sample).
Thanks!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!
Recent video lessons:
📝 My "song" PDFs are now individually purcasheable! I've arranged a licensing agreement with Musicnotes, a service that lets you buy my sheet music arrangements. Patreon supporters get 50% off each purchase. Learn more here »
June 22, 2022
How to Make Drum Tracks Using GarageBand's Beat Sequencer
A beginner's guide to using GarageBand's Beat Sequencer tool to create custom drum beats! Even if you're a total novice when it comes to drumming (like me), I'll walk you through the basic steps to create rich-sounding drum tracks to play over while practicing or performing.
May 27, 2022
Creating a Fingerstyle Arrangement of Tom Petty's "American Girl"
A few years after learning American Girl the way Tom Petty plays it, I returned to it — this time determined to work out a low-key, easy-going fingerstyle arrangement. Here's how it went!
May 22, 2022
Using Triads & Double-Stops to Punch Up a Melody
As part of my Learning Lead Guitar series, I share a realization I recently had showing different ways to fill out melody lines using triads, double-stops, and harmonized sixths.
May 19, 2022
Q&A: Learning a Song for a Wedding? Here's My Advice.
I answer an audience question about how to go about learning a song (with a tricky riff) for a peformance at a family wedding.
May 12, 2022
List of My Beginner-Friendly Song Lessons
After many requests from y'all, I finally created this list of all my beginner-friendly song lessons! These are grouped by key, allowing you to take the chord shapes you already know and find other songs using those same shapes.
May 4, 2022
Easier Ways to Play B-minor (No Barring Required)
Two easier ways to play B-minor, using open chord voicings — super helpful to have these in your toolkit. Includes different practice riffs to accompany each chord voicing.
Browse my all lessons
By lesson type
- Full Song Lessons
- Beginner Songs
- Backing Tracks
- Play-Along Covers
- Warm-Up Exercises
- Tips & Techniques
By song decade
By musical genre
By guitar technique
By musical key
By popular artist
- Johnny Cash
- Tyler Childers
- Tom Petty
- Neil Young
- Nirvana
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Willie Nelson
- John Denver
- Guns N' Roses