Lady Gaga - Americano - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords Em, B7 Easy key F (capo 2)

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Capo 0

Em                        B7
I met a girl in east LA in floral shorts as sweet as May
     Em                            B7
She sang in eighths and two bodial chords
            Em                   B7
We fell in love but not in court

La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la

         Em
Mis canciones son de la revolución
      B7
Mi córazon me duele por mi generación

       B7
If you love me, we can marry on the west coast
       Em               B7       Em
On a Wednesday en el verano en agosto

          Em                                     B7
I don't speak your, I don't speak your language, oh no
          B7                                                                        Em
I don't speak your , I don't speak your  Jesús Cristo
          Em                                B7
I don't speak your, I don't speak your Americano
          B7                                                                         Em
I don't speak your , I don't speak your  Jesús Cristo

 Em                B7
Ooh, America, Americano
  B7               Em
Ooh, America, Americano
 Em                B7
Ooh, America, Americano
  B7               Em
Ooh, America, Americano

I will fight for, I have fought for how I love you
I have cried for, I will die for how I care
In the mountains, las campanas están sonando
Los chicos , los chicos  están besando

          Em                                     B7
I don't speak your, I don't speak your language, oh no
          B7                                                                        Em
I don't speak your , I don't speak your  Jesús Cristo
          Em                                B7
I don't speak your, I don't speak your Americano
          B7                                                                         Em
I don't speak your , I don't speak your  Jesús Cristo

 Em                B7
Ooh, America, Americano
  B7               Em
Ooh, America, Americano
 Em                B7
Ooh, America, Americano
  B7               Em
Ooh, America, Americano

Em                                                    B7
Don't you try to catch me, don't you try to catch me, no, no, no, no
     B7                                              Em
I'm living on the edge of, living on the edge of the law, law, law, law
Em
Don't you try to catch me, don't you try to catch me
B7
I'm living on the edge of the law, law, law, law

End of song Play again?

Lady Gaga - Americano Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Lady Gaga – Americano: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Em and ends on B7. 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)
#7 = D# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the E minor side because it opens on Em, Em is heard 25 times while G never appears and the major V chord points straight at Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from G major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

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	—
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	—
iii	Bm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	B · D · F#	—
V7/vi	B7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F# · A	25×
IV	C	Subdominant — moves away from home	C · E · G	—
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	—
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	25×
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	25×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	—
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	—
v	Bm	Minor dominant — soft pull	B · D · F#	—
V7	B7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	B · D# · F# · A	25×
VI	C	Submediant — warm colour	C · E · G	—
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	—

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 2 different chords appear 50 times in total; 1 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Em brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from G, the same B7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Em.

Chord movement

B7 Em GV7/vi → visecondary resolution EmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×14

The move to watch is B7 → Em, heard 14 times. From the Em side it is V7 → i (harmonic-minor cadence: the major V resolves dramatically); from the G side it reads V7/vi → vi (secondary resolution: B7 resolves a fourth up to Em). 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 Em, land on E, G, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over B7, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When B7 comes, swap the scale's D for D#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

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

2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch
5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Em, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Em, B7 carry the song: vi–V7/vi relative to G, i–V7 relative to Em. B7 is the interesting twist: in G it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Em it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on B7 → Em (V7/vi → vi in G, V7 → i in Em): harmonic-minor cadence — the major V resolves dramatically. The final chord is B7; the ear comes to rest in G.

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.