Tame Impala - Borderline - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Am, G, Fmaj7, E7/G#, Dm7 Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Am
Calling in your love
                E7/G#
Calling in your love
     G               Fmaj7
It's time for something
Am
I was in for long
             E7/G#    G               Fmaj7
I was in for long at night for something
Am
We're on the borderline
                E7/G#       G            Fmaj7
On the borrowed time, we've wasted one day
Am
Possibly a sign
                 E7/G#     G            Fmaj7
I'm gonna have a strangest night on Sunday

Am                   E7/G#
          There I go
         G                  Fmaj7
Quite a show for a loner in A 
Am                             E7/G#   G 
Asking how I managed to end up in this place
       Fmaj7
And I couldn't get away

Am
On the borderline
                  E7/G#    G              Fmaj7
Right between the tides of pain and rapture
Am                                       E7/G#      G 
Then I saw the time, watched it speeding by like a train

Like a train

Am E7/G# G  Fmaj7
Am G  Fmaj7 Dm7

       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
         G          Fmaj7
Is there one that I trust
         Am       G 
Starting to sober up
       Fmaj7      Dm7
Has it been long enough
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
      G             Fmaj7
Close enough, close enough
      Am            G 
I'm a loser, loosen up
       Fmaj7         Dm7
Set it free, must be tough
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
         G          Fmaj7
Is there one that I trust
           Am             G 
If there's room, room for doubt
       Fmaj7      Dm7
As within, as without
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
        G                  Fmaj7
Gettin' closer, it's close enough
          Am         G 
Shout out to what is done
  Fmaj7             Dm7
RIP, here comes the sun

Am  E7/G# G   Fmaj7

Am
Calling in your love
                E7/G#
Calling in your love
  G                Fmaj7
Inside for something
Am
Can we go outside
              E7/G#  G                Fmaj7
Need to vitalize and wait for something
Am
Do you see the light
              E7/G#    G              Fmaj7
Do you wonder why they ain't responding
Am
As we go inside, oh
            E7/G#    G 
As we go inside, oh, no
      Fmaj7
And I couldn't get away

Am
We're on the borderline
              E7/G#
Gets me every time
      G               Fmaj7
These close encounters
Am
Just to know I can
             E7/G#  G  E7/G#
Once again I am alone

       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
         G          Fmaj7
Is there one that I trust
         Am       G 
Starting to sober up
       Fmaj7      Dm7
Has it been long enough
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
        G             Fmaj7
Gettin' closer, close enough
      Am            G 
I'm a loser, loosen up
       Fmaj7         Dm7
Set it free, must be tough
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
         G          Fmaj7
Is there one that I trust
           Am             G 
If there's room, room for doubt
       Fmaj7      Dm7
As within, as without
       Am           E7/G#
Will I be known and loved
        G                  Fmaj7
Gettin' closer, it's close enough
          Am         G 
Shout out to what is done
  Fmaj7             Dm7
RIP, here comes the sun

End of song Play again?

Tame Impala - Borderline Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Tame Impala – Borderline: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Am and ends on Dm7. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)
#7 = G# (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 A minor side because it opens on Am, Am is heard 33 times while C never appears and the major V chord points straight at Am. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from C 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 C or to Am; 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 C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	—
ii7	Dm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A · C	9×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V7/vi	E7/G#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B · D	25×
IVmaj7	Fmaj7	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C · E	31×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	33×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	33×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	33×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	—
iv7	Dm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A · C	9×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V7	E7/G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B · D	25×
VImaj7	Fmaj7	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C · E	31×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	33×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 5 different chords appear 131 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E7/G# is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am.

Chord movement

Fmaj7 Am CIVmaj7 → vi AmVImaj7 → iVI → i ×22
Dm7 Am Cii7 → vi Amiv7 → iminor plagal ×8
E7/G# Am CV7/vi → visecondary resolution AmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×1
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×1

The move to watch is Fmaj7 → Am, heard 22 times. From the Am side it is VImaj7 → i (VI → i: falls a half step into home); from the C side it reads IVmaj7 → vi. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Fmaj7, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When E7/G# comes, swap the scale's G for G#: 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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Am, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Am, G, Fmaj7, E7/G# carry the song: vi–V–IVmaj7–V7/vi relative to C, i–VII–VImaj7–V7 relative to Am. E7/G# is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Fmaj7 → Am (IVmaj7 → vi in C, VImaj7 → i in Am): VI → i — falls a half step into home. It closes on Dm7, letting the C 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.