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Play The Hungry Years on your own piano
Plug in your piano by USB or Bluetooth. The song waits for you until you hit the right notes. Slow it down, loop any bars, play one hand at a time.
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- 3Connect your keyboard. By USB or Bluetooth, and play along.
The Hungry Years — Karaoke: Lyrics & Chords to Sing & Play Along
About “The Hungry Years”
Free karaoke for "The Hungry Years" by Neil Sedaka: lyrics on screen with the chords above each line and a bouncing ball that lands on every word in time. Sing along, or play along on guitar or piano from the chord chart. Change the key to fit your voice, slow the tempo down. Key of A, 77 BPM.
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Lyrics
(A)Girl, we made it to the top, we (Dm)went so high we could n’t stop, we (A)climbed the lad der (Dm)lead ing us no (A)where.
Two of us to (D)geth er,
build ing (Dm)cas tles
in the (A)air.
We (C)spun so fast we could n’t tell the (Fm)gold ring from the car ou sel; how (C)could we know the (Fm)ride would turn out (C)bad?
Ev ’ry thing we (Am)want ed
let’s was ev ’ry thing we (G7sus)had.
I miss the hun gry (Fmaj7)years,
the once up on a (Fm)time,
the love ly long a (C)go
we did n’t have a (D9)dime:
those days of (Dm7)me and you
we (Fm)lost a long the (Cmaj7)way.
How could I be so (Fmaj7)blind
not to see the (Fm)door
clos ing on the (C)world
I now hun ger (D9)for.
Look ing through my (Dm7)tears,
I (Fm)miss the hun gry (C)years.
We (A)shared our day dreams one by one we (Dm)mak ing plans was so much fun; we (A)set our goals and (Dm)reached the high est (A)star.
Things that we were (D)af ter
we much (Dm)bet ter
from a (A)far
We (C)Here we stand just me and you with (Fm)ev ry thing and noth ing, too; it (C)was n’t worth the (Fm)price we had to (C)pay.
Hon ey, take me (Am)home, ed
let’s go back to yes ter (G7sus)day.
I miss the hun gry (Fmaj7)years,
the once up on a (Fm)time,
the love ly long a (C)go
we did n’t have a (D9)dime:
those days of (Dm7)me and you
we (Fm)lost a long the (Cmaj7)way.
How could I be so (Fmaj7)blind
not to see the (Fm)door
clos ing on the (C)world
I now hun ger (D9)for.
Look ing through my (Dm7)tears,
I (Fm)miss the hun gry (C)years.
We (C)years.
I miss the hun gry (C)years.
Teacher’s notes
This arrangement is a wonderful workout for navigating extended chords at a relaxed 77 BPM — you'll move through sixteen different chord shapes including Cmaj7, C9, D9, and Bm7, which means your left hand needs to be comfortable shifting between major, minor, and seventh voicings without hesitation.
The pedal bass pattern keeps your left hand anchored, so use that stability to focus on clean chord transitions up top.
Watch the moves between A major and the borrowed chords like Dm, Fm, and Fmaj7 — those chromatic shifts can catch you off guard if you're not anticipating them.
I'd suggest learning hands separately first, then loop any four-bar phrase where the harmony changes color unexpectedly.
Slow it down to around 55 BPM until each chord lands without fumbling, then build back up.
The most common stumble is rushing through the seventh chords instead of voicing every note clearly.
Stay patient with those shapes — this is the piece that will make extended jazz voicings feel natural under your fingers.
Questions about this song (11)
- What key is "The Hungry Years" by Neil Sedaka played in?
- The Hungry Years is arranged in the key of A on Super Simple Piano. You can transpose to any other key live in the player.
- What's the tempo (BPM) of "The Hungry Years"?
- The arrangement plays at 77 BPM. Use the speed control (10-200%) to practice slower or play faster.
- Is "The Hungry Years" easy to play on piano?
- Yes — this is one of our beginner-friendly arrangements with simplified chords and color-coded notes.
- Can I download sheet music for "The Hungry Years"?
- Yes — registered users can download PDF sheet music, plus MIDI and MusicXML files for use in other notation software.
- Who composed "The Hungry Years"?
- "The Hungry Years" was originally performed by Neil Sedaka. The Super Simple Piano arrangement is simplified for beginner-to-intermediate players.
- What chords are used in "The Hungry Years"?
- This arrangement uses 16 chords: A, Am, Bm7, C, C9, Cmaj7, D, D7, +8 more.
- What other songs by Neil Sedaka can I play here?
- Try "BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO", "BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO", "LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN". All are in our player with color-coded notes; pick the one matching your level.
- Is there a karaoke version of "The Hungry Years" with lyrics?
- Yes — this is a free karaoke slide for "The Hungry Years" by Neil Sedaka. The lyrics appear on screen a line at a time and each word lights up exactly when it's sung, with a bouncing ball leading you word to word. A backing plays underneath so you can just sing.
- Does it show chords so I can play along on guitar or piano?
- It does — a chord symbol sits on a thin row just above the lyric it changes on, so the same screen doubles as a lyrics-and-chords chart. Guitarists can strum the changes and pianists can comp while singing; the chords are colour-coded and move with the live transpose if you change key.
- Can I change the key of "The Hungry Years" to match my voice or capo?
- Yes. The original is in A, but the live transpose control shifts the whole song up or down semitones until the melody sits in your range (or maps to an easier guitar shape / capo position) — the on-screen chords and the backing move with it.
- Can I slow "The Hungry Years" down to learn the words and chords?
- Yes — the tempo control lets you take it as slow as you need while the lyrics still light up in time and the ball keeps you on the beat. Speed it back up once you can sing and play it through.
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