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Alessia Cara - Growing Pains Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, E, C#m, B
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

  • Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
  • Guitar E chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-1-0-0Guitar E chord diagram
  • Guitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram Fingering: x-4-2-1-2-xGuitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram
  • Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram

[Opening]
You’re on your own, kid, you are
[A]Make my way through the motions, I try to [E]ignore it, but home’s looking farther the closer I [A]get
Don’t know why I can’t see the end, is it over [E]yet? Hmm
A [A]short leash and a short fuse don’t match, they tell me it ain’t that [E]bad, now don’t you overreact
So I just hold my breath, [A]don’t know why, I can’t see the sun when young should [E]be fun

[chorus]
And I guess the [A]bad can get better, gotta be wrong before it’s right
[E]Every happy phrase engraved in my mind, and I’ve always [A]been a go-getter
There’s truth in every word I write, but [E]still the growing pains, growing pains, they’re keeping me up at night

[chorus]
[A]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah
And I [E]can’t hide ’cause growing pains are keeping me up at night
[A]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey
And I [C#m]can’t hide ’cause growing [B]pains are keeping me up at night

[verse 2]
[A]Try to mend what’s left of my content incomprehen[E]sion, as I take on the stress of the mess that I’ve made
[A]Don’t know if I even care for “grown” if it’s just [E]alone, yeah

[chorus]
And I guess the [A]bad can get better, gotta be wrong before it’s right
[E]Every happy phrase engraved in my mind, and I’ve always [A]been a go-getter
There’s truth in every word I write, but [E]still the growing pains, growing pains, they’re keeping me up at night

[chorus]
[A]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah
And I [E]can’t hide ’cause growing pains are keeping me up at night
[A]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey
And I [C#m]can’t hide ’cause growing [B]pains are keeping me up at night

[Closing]
[A]Starting to look like Ms. Know-it-all, can’t take her own advice, can’t [E]find pieces of my peace of mind
I cry more than I’d like to admit, but I can’t [A]lie to myself, to anyone, ’cause phoning it in isn’t any fun
Can’t [E]run back to my youth the way I want to, the days my brother was quicker to [A]fool
AM radio, not much to do, used monsters as an [E]excuse to lie awake
[E]Now the monsters are the ones that I have to face, no band-aids for the growing pains
[A]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah
[C#m]Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah, [B]hey, no band-aids for the growing pains

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SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistAlessia Cara
AlbumThe Pains of Growing
GenresAlternative, Indie, Pop
Year2018
KeyA

How to play Growing Pains on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Alessia Cara - Growing Pains on guitar requires 4 chords and 4 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

Growing Pains uses these transitions most often: A → E (15), E → A (15), and A → C#m (3). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with A - E chord transition.

1. A → E chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar E chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-1-0-0Guitar E chord diagram

To move from A to E;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
A to E

2. A → C#m chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram Fingering: x-4-2-1-2-xGuitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram

To move from A to C#m;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on B string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on A string fret 4.
A to C#m

3. C#m → B chord transition

Guitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram Fingering: x-4-2-1-2-xGuitar C#m | D♭m chord diagram
Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram

To move from C#m to B;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger on D string from fret 2 to fret 4.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 4.
  4. Slide your pinky from A string fret 4 to B string fret 4.
C#m to B

4. B → A chord transition

Guitar B chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar B chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

To move from B to A;

  1. While playing B, lift your pinky from B string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 4 to G string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 4 and place it on B string fret 2.
B to A

Growing Pains chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Growing Pains.

  • Growing Pains includes 38 chord transitions, 4 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Growing Pains contains 1 of the top 25 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Growing Pains connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
    • A → E: 12%
    • A → C#m: 2%
    After E, the most likely next chords across Chordier are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → A: 25%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.