Sixteen Going On Seventeen chords

from The Sound Of Music

Original Published Key: F Major

Time Signature: 4/4 (♩)

Tempo: Moderately


Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Intermediate

Chords: F, F6, F7, F+, Fm6, G7, G9, Gm7, C7, C7b9, C9, C+, Dm, Dm7, D7, Bb, Bb-5, Bbm7

PS: See notes below if you are playing with the video.

Thumbnail for YouTube Video

The first verse is omitted in the video clip... starts at the first refrain.

Chord Chart Legend
F Major F7 F Major F+ F6 Fm6 G7 G9 Gm7 C7 C7b9 C9 C+ Dm Dm7 D7 Bb Major Bb-5 Bbm7

Added chords in the key of D Major:

E9 G-5 Gm7 A9 Aaug A7b9 A7b9 - V2
Lefties Chord Chart Legend
F Major F7 F Major F+ F6 Fm6 G7 G9 Gm7 C7 C7b9 C9 C+ Dm Dm7 D7 Bb Major Bb-5 Bbm7

Added chords in the key of D Major:

E9 G-5 Gm7 A9 Aaug A7b9 A7b9 - V2

Sixteen Going On Seventeen

Verse 1 and the first refrain (male part) is in the key of Ab Major - place a Capo on the 3rd fret and all is well.

Second refrain (female part) there is a key change to D Major - you will need to move the capo to the 9th fret which may sound a little odd... as long as you have enough neck-room, it is possible but not entirely desirable. 

An alternative, is to stop the video and press 'D' on the Transposer (D Major). The chords are all very easy to play with a few exceptions which are all included in the Chord Charts.

The optional Interlude and 3rd refrain of the song is also in D Major, but is not included in the video clip, which can be found at: https://youtu.be/ZYf_TaNUOvk

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
       F                         G9
1. You wait, lit-tle girl, on an emp-ty stage
       Gm7              F6
   For fate to turn the light on
        F                         G9
   Your life, lit-tle girl, is an emp-ty page
        Gm7              F6             Faug  Dm   C7
   That men will want to write on    To write on |     |...

           F                C7
Refrain 1: You are six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen
           F                     Dm7     G9
           Ba-by, it's time to | think -     | 
           C9                  F
           Bet-ter be-ware, be can-ny and care-ful
           Gm7           G7       C7        Caug
           Ba-by, you're on the | brink! / /     |

           F                C7
           You are six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen
           F                       Dm7     G9
           Fel-lows will fall in | line -     |
           C9                    F
           Ea-ger young lads and rogues and cads
                Gm7        C9       F
           Will of-fer you food and wine.

           Bb               Bb-5
           To-tal-ly un-pre-pared are you
              F7              Bb
           To face a world of men.
           Bb                 Bb-5
           Tim-id and shy and scared are you
              F                     G7     C7
           Of things be-yond your | kin -     |

           F                 C7
           You need some-one old-er and wis-er
           F                    Bbm7
           Tell-ing you what to do
           F                D7
           I am sev-en-teen go-ing on eight-een
           G9        C7b9    F    G7     C7
           I'll take care of you |    -     |

           F             C7
Refrain 2: I am six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen
           F                   Dm7     G9
           I know that I'm na-|ive  -     |
           C9                  F
           Fel-lows I meet may tell me I'm sweet
               Gm7         G7       C7          Caug
           And will-ing-ly I'll be-|lieve. / /       |

           F             C7
           I am six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen
           F                 Dm7     G9
           In-no-cent as a | rose  -    |
           C9                   F
           Bach-e-lor dan-dies, drink-ers of bran-dies
           Gm7       C9      F
           What do I know of those?

           Bb               Bb-5
           To-tal-ly un-pre-pared am I
              F7              Bb
           To face a world of men
           Bb                 Bb-5
           Tim-id and shy and scared am I
              F                   G7    C7
           Of things be-yond my | kin -    |

           F               C7
           I need some-one old-er and wis-er
           F                   Bbm7
           Tell-ing me what to do
           F                   D7
           You are sev-en-teen go-ing on eight-een
           G9      C7b9    F
           I'll de-pend on you |  𝄎  | 
           
             F               C7       Gm7  C7 
Interlude: A bell is no bell till you ring it,
             F                        G7 
           A song is no song till you sing it,
               F                          Fm6 
           And love in your heart was-'nt put there to stay,
           F6                        Gm7     C7     F7    F6    Faug     F
           Love is-n't love till you give it a  - | way -     |       -     | 

           F                    C7
Refrain 3: When you're six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen
           F                      Dm7      G9 
           Wait-ing for life to | start -     |
           C9                  F
           Some-bod-y kind who touch-es your mind 
                Gm7        G7           C7         Caug
           Will sud-den-ly touch your | heart! / /      |

           F                   C7
           When thet hap-pens, af-ter it hap-pens,
           F                       Dm7     G9 
           Noth-ing is quite the | same  -     |
           C9                      F
           Some-how you kno you'll jump up and go
              Gm7      C9         F
           If ev-er he calls your name!

           Bb                    Bb-5
           Gone are your old i - deas of life
               F7              Bb
           The old i-deas grow dim
           Bb                    Bb-5
           Lo and be-hold you're some-one's wife
               F                G7    C9
           And you be-long to | him -    |

           F                  C7
           You may think this kind of ad-ven-ture
           F                  Bbm7
           Nev-er may come to you
           F                 D7
           Dar-ling six-teen go-ing on sev-en-teen,
           G9          C7b9         F    
           Wait      a year      or two |  𝄎  |          

Song Details:

  • Composer: Oscar Hammerstein II
  • Lyricist: Richard Rodgers
  • Date: 1959
  • Lyrics Begin: You wait, little girl, on an empty stage for fate to turn the light on.
  • Featured Artists: Charmian Carr (as 'Liesl'), Daniel Truhitte (as 'Rolfe'), and Julie Andrews (as 'Maria') - 3rd refrain (separate video).
  • Album: The Sound Of Music (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Released: March 2, 1965
  • Genre: Movie/TV, Show/Broadway, Soundtrack, Musical
Songs from The Sound Of Music on this site:
Back to Popular Music Back To Top
Contact Me
janice@bellandcomusic.com
A seasoned performer joyfully playing the guitar