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Borderline

Joni Mitchell

Text File

#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
Here's a song I fell in love with when I first heard it on Turbulent Indigo. I learned the chords from 
Joni's fingers on the PBS documentary on Troubadours of Folk Festival, where she first introduced the song. 
is very classic Joni melody writing, on a par with Both Sides Now in its folk simplicity. The chords are not that exotic or jazzy, but there's a fluidity to the chord changes that really heightens the emotions of 
lyrics - a Joni trademark!
As before, I have not included the right-hand fingering - it's best left to the individual player to flesh 
Select a tuning that best suits your voice (the fingering is the same for all three):
Tuning on Turbulent Indigo album: BF#BD#F#B (my guitar goes dead this low!)
Tuning on live performance: CGCEGC
Also can be played in DADF#AD

4/4

                                   Borderline - Words & Music by Joni Mitchell

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                                                     Every   -       body looks so ill at ease             
        so distrustful so dis-


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    pleased. Running down this table, I see a borderline.                                      Like a      
        barbed-wire


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 fence                               strung tight, strung tense,               prickling with pretence,    
  a borderline.


                                                                 (slur):
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        Why are you         smirking at your friend?                                                       
this to                be the night

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  when all well-wishing ends?                          All credibility re      -  voked?                   
              Thin skin, thick


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     jokes! Can we blame it on the smoke, this sudden          border -   line?