Lana Del Rey - Born To Die - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords D, C, Em, Cmaj7, G, C7 Difficulty already in its easiest key

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G                   D
Feet don't fail me now
G                     D
Take me to the finish line
                 C                        Em
All my heart, it breaks every step that I take
                         D
But I'm hoping that the gates,

They'll tell me that you're mine
G                         D
Walking through the city streets
G                      D
Is it by mistake or design'
            C               Em
I feel so alone on a Friday night
                           D
Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you're mine

It's like I told you honey


C             Em                  D
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
                        Cmaj7
Sometimes love is not enough when the road gets tough
              C
I don't know why
                Em
Keep making me laugh,
              D
Let's go get high
                    Cmaj7
Road's long, we carry on
                            C
Try to have fun in the meantime

                                             Em
Come and take a walk on the wild side
                                      D
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
                      Cmaj7
You like your girls insane
C                  Em
Choose your last words
                  D
This is the last time
             C7
Cause you and I, we were born to die


G                   D
Lost but now I am found
G                         D
I can see but once I was blind
             C                 Em
I was so confused as a little child
                            D
Tried to take what I could get
 D
Scared that I couldn't find

All the answers, honey


C             Em                  D
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
                        Cmaj7
Sometimes love is not enough when the road gets tough
              C
I don't know why
                Em
Keep making me laugh,
              D
Let's go get high
                    Cmaj7
Road's long, we carry on
                            C
Try to have fun in the meantime

                                             Em
Come and take a walk on the wild side
                                      D
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
                      Cmaj7
You like your girls insane
C                  Em
Choose your last words
                  D
This is the last time
             C7
Cause you and I, we were born to die



C   Em                     D    Cmaj7
          We were born to die
C   Em                     D
          We were born to die



C                                       Em
Come and take a walk on the wild side
                                      D
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
                      Cmaj7
You like your girls insane

C             Em                  D
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
                        Cmaj7
Sometimes love is not enough when the road gets tough
              C
I don't know why
                Em
Keep making me laugh,
              D
Let's go get high
                    Cmaj7
Road's long, we carry on
                            C
Try to have fun in the meantime

                                        Em
Come and take a walk on the wild side
                                      D
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
                      Cmaj7
You like your girls insane
C                  Em
Choose your last words
                  D
This is the last time
             C7
Cause you and I, we were born to die

End of song Play again?

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on C7. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

G major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

E minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = D (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between G major and E minor because it opens on G and Em is heard 18 times against 6 for G. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to G or to Em; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	6×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V/vi	B	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	—
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	18×
IVmaj7	Cmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G · B	11×
IV7	C7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb	3×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	25×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	18×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	18×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	6×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V	B	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F#	—
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	18×
VImaj7	Cmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G · B	11×
VI7	C7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C · E · G · Bb	3×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	25×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 6 different chords appear 81 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C7 step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

C Em GIV → vi EmVI → iVI → i ×18
D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×4
C7 G GIV7 → Iplagal cadence EmVI7 → III ×1

The move to watch is C → Em, heard 18 times. From the G side it reads IV → vi; from the Em side it is VI → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Em, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With G major shapes

No capo — open G shapes
Capo 3 + E shapes
Capo 5 + D shapes

With E minor shapes

No capo — open Em shapes
Capo 2 + Dm shapes
Capo 7 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

The opening G lays a solid floor for everything that follows. D, C, Em, Cmaj7 carry the song: V–IV–vi–IVmaj7 relative to G, VII–VI–i–VImaj7 relative to Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C → Em (IV → vi in G, VI → i in Em): VI → i — falls a half step into home. It closes on C7, letting the G side have the last word.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.