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Julia Michaels – Pessimist Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsC G Bm

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
 C G Bm

[Verse 1]
  C
Plantin' lemon trees since
I was twenty-three
            G
Wash away food to grow facilitates
      Bm
the bittersweet
               C
No matter what I did
               G       Bm
No matter what I did
C
I was hard-headed to
the ninth degree
                     G
Punch and pushed by anything,
                        Bm
I thought would make a mess of me
                 C
That's just what I did
                 G     Bm
That's just what I did

[Pre-Chorus]
 C
Made me die, made me melt
 G              Bm
You changed the way I felt
 C
With your touch, with your help
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else

[Chorus]
  C
You're all I see in my mind
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else
    C
Painlessly caught in your eyes
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else

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[Solo]
C G Bm

[Verse 2]
 C
You make me believe that
she ain't no make-believe
                     G
I'll stop checking horoscopes
                     Bm
to cope with all my misery
                  C
That's just what you did
                  G           Bm
That's just what you did, yeah

[Pre-Chorus]
 C
Made me die, made me melt
 G              Bm
You changed the way I felt
 C
With your touch, with your help
 G
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else

[Chorus]
  C
You're all I see in my mind
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else
    C
Painlessly caught in your eyes
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else

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

[Solo]
C G Bm

[Pre-Chorus]
 C
Made me die, made me melt
 G              Bm
You changed the way I felt
 C
With your touch, with your help
 G
You showed me what it means to
fall in deep like no one else

[Chorus]
  C
You're all I see in my mind
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else
    C
Painlessly caught in your eyes
G         Bm
I think I see a lifetime
 C
Done holding on to myself
 G                         Bm
You took a pessimist and turned
me into something else

How to play Pessimist: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for Pessimist by Julia Michaels on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

Pessimist by Julia Michaels keeps coming home to C major (no sharps or flats). You need 3 chords: C, G and Bm.

Most of the song cycles through C – G – Bm – C (I – V – vii – I in C major). In solfa, that is doh – soh – te – doh. Get these 4 changes smooth and the rest comes quickly.

Good to know: Bm is played as barre or movable shapes on guitar. Practise the change into it slowly; on piano and ukulele the same chords are easier.