Major view
A major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Shawn Mendes - Youth (feat. Khalid) - Chord
Key A major – F# minor Chords Em7, Bm7, C, Am7 Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: A | Gbm | F#m
Capo: 0
Em7 Bm7 C Am7
Em7 Bm7
Here I am, stuck on this couch, scrolling through my notes
C Am7
Heart was broken, still not growing, nah
Em7 Bm7
Waking up to headlines filled with devastation again
C Am7
My heart is broken, but I keep going
Em7 Bm7
Pain, but I won't let it turn into
C Am7
Hate, no I won't let it change me
Em7 Bm7
Never losing sight of the one I keep inside
C Am7
Now I know it, yeah I know it
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
You can't take my youth away
Em7 Bm7
It's hard to sleep at night, knowing what's outside
C Am7
Feeling hopeless, I need focus
Em7 Bm7
You hit me with words I never heard come out your mouth
C Am7
To be honest, I don't want it, no
Em7 Bm7
Pain, but I won't let it turn into
C Am7
Hate, no I won't let it change me
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7 Bm7
You can't take my youth away
C Am7
You can't take my youth away, oh yeah
Em7 Bm7
Pain, but I won't let it turn into
C Am7
Hate, no I won't let it change me
Em7 Bm7
Pain, but I won't let it turn into
C Am7
Hate, no I won't let it change me
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
Em7
You can't take my youth away
Bm7
This soul of mine will never break
C
As long as I wake up today
Am7
You can't take my youth away
You can't take my youth away
End of song Play again?
Shawn Mendes - Youth (feat. Khalid) Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Shawn Mendes – Youth (feat. Khalid): key and chord analysis
The song opens on Em7 and ends on Am7. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
F# minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = E (natural-minor colour)
Which side does the ear lean to?
Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between A major and F# minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to A or to F#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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | A | Tonic — home | A · C# · E | — |
| i7 | Am7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E · G | 20× |
| ii7 | Bm7 | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | B · D · F# · A | 20× |
| bIII | C | Borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord | C · E · G | 20× |
| iii | C#m | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | C# · E · G# | — |
| III | C# | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C# · E# · G# | — |
| IV | D | Subdominant — moves away from home | D · F# · A | — |
| V | E | Dominant — strongest pull home | E · G# · B | — |
| v7 | Em7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B · D | 20× |
| vi | F#m | Relative minor — the melancholy side | F# · A · C# | — |
| vii° | G#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | G# · B · D | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | F#m | Tonic — home | F# · A · C# | — |
| ii° | G#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G# · B · D | — |
| III | A | Relative major — the bright side | A · C# · E | — |
| iii7 | Am7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C · E · G | 20× |
| iv7 | Bm7 | Subdominant — moves away from home | B · D · F# · A | 20× |
| #IV | C | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | C · E · G | 20× |
| v | C#m | Minor dominant — soft pull | C# · E · G# | — |
| V | C# | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | C# · E# · G# | — |
| VI | D | Submediant — warm colour | D · F# · A | — |
| VII | E | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | E · G# · B | — |
| vii7 | Em7 | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | E · G · B · D | 20× |
Analysis
The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 4 different chords appear 80 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C is 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
- A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
- Over Em7, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Bm7, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over C, land on C, E, G — 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 A major shapes
- No capo — open A shapes
- Capo 2 + G shapes
- Capo 5 + E shapes
With F# minor shapes
- Capo 2 + Em shapes
- Capo 4 + Dm shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
The opening Em7 lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Em7, Bm7, C, Am7 — v7–ii7–bIII–i7 from the A side, vii7–iv7–#IV–iii7 from the F#m side. C briefly darkens the picture: borrowed from the parallel minor. The final chord is Am7; the ear comes to rest in A.
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.
Shawn Mendes - Youth (feat. Khalid) 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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