Dec22020

Cedric Shy – Permission Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsE A B C#m

KeyKeyCapo

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INTRO:
E E E E  A A  
E E E E E E  A A A  E

VERSE:
 E
Deep into the pit I go
And I take all 
            A    E
my life on down
E
I made my bed and 
sleep there too
Still I can’t seem 
           A    E
to settle down

PRE-CHORUS:
 A
And the moment
          E
It feels  better
     A                E
The sun it sets below
       A
And I tell myself
          E
Get it together
         A              E
I should be okay by now
         A              E
I should be okay by now
                     A  E
I should be okay by now

CHORUS:
     E                  
But when you weep don’t 
               B
you dry those eyes
       C#m
'Cause I’m coming around
                       A
And right beside I'll cry
 E                    
Someday soon we’ll be 
                 B
dancing on that grave
    C#m           
And as for you no 
            A
need to be brave
     E                   
And all the noise please 
           B
stop listening
C#m                     
Just these words I want 
                 A   A
you to hear from me
 C#m
Broken
 B              E      A
You have permission to be
 C#m
Broken
 B                     A
You have permission to be

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VERSE:
       E
Heavy laid, numb inside
     E
You call me out
             A        E
I don’t know my name
E
My own voice, lies believed
     E
And “I love you”
                  A   A
It don’t mean a thing

PRE-CHORUS:
           C#m
But I’m a moment
E
It felt better
 A                  E
I’m on level ground
  E
Still I tell myself
 E
Pull it together
     A                   E
I’m breathing better now
 E
I’m breathing better now
                       A  E
He’s breathing better now

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

CHORUS:
     E                  
But when you weep don’t 
               B
you dry those eyes
       C#m
'Cause I’m coming around
                       A
And right beside I'll cry
 E                    
Someday soon we’ll be 
                 B
dancing on that grave
    C#m                
And as for you no need 
       A
to be brave
     E                   
And all the noise please 
           B
stop listening
C#m                     
Just these words I want 
    E            A   A
you to hear from me

OUTRO:
  A    E
Broken
                       A   E
You have permission to be
 C#m   E
Broken
                       A   E
You have permission to be
  C#m   E    A    E

How to play Permission: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for Permission by Cedric Shy on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

Permission by Cedric Shy is built around E major (four sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯), with 4 chords in all: E, A, B and C#m.

The progression the song keeps returning to is A – E – B – C#m (IV – I – V – vi in E major), a rotation of the four-chord pop progression that starts on the IV chord. In solfa, that is fah – doh – soh – lah. Learn these 4 changes first and most of the song falls into place.

Easier on guitar: put a capo on the 2nd fret and play the shapes D, G, A, Bm (75% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 50% without a capo). It sounds exactly the same.