Pixies - Where Is My Mind - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords E, C#m, G#, A, Am, B Easy key C (capo 4)

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Capo 0

Ooh,  stop
           E  C#m  G#  A

           E                        C#m               G#  A
 With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
E    C#m            G#       A
 Try this trick and spin it, yeah
E                  C#m
 Your head will collapse
            G#
But there's nothing in it
           A
And you'll ask yourself

E            C#m
 Where is my mind?
G#           A
 Where is my mind?
     E       C#m   G#  A    E  C#m  G#  A
 Where is my mind?
 E   G#         A             Am        C#m   B
 Way out in the water, see it swimming

E                        C#m    G#  A
I was swimmin' in the Caribbean
E             C#m                  G#  A
   Animals were hiding behind the rock
E                    C#m
   Except the little fish
          G#
But they told me, he swears
           A
Tryin' to talk to me, coy koi

E            C#m
 Where is my mind?
G#           A
 Where is my mind?
     E       C#m   G#  A    E  C#m  G#  A
 Where is my mind?
 E   G#         A             Am        C#m   B
 Way out in the water, see it swimming

           E                        C#m               G#  A
 With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
E    C#m            G#       A
 Try this trick and spin it, yeah
E                  C#m
 Your head will collapse
            G#
But there's nothing in it
           A
And you'll ask yourself

E            C#m
 Where is my mind?
G#           A
 Where is my mind?
     E       C#m   G#  A    E  C#m  G#  A
 Where is my mind?
 E   G#         A             Am        C#m   B
 Way out in the water, see it swimming.

E  C#m  G#  A

End of song Play again?

Pixies - Where Is My Mind Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Pixies – Where Is My Mind: key and chord analysis

The song opens on E and ends on A. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between E major and C# minor because it opens on E and the major V chord points straight at C#m. 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 E or to C#m; 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 E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	23×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	—
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V/vi	G#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to C#msecondary dominant	G# · B# · D#	23×
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	23×
iv	Am	Minor iv — borrowed from the parallel minorborrowed chord	A · C · E	3×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	3×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	23×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	23×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	23×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	—
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V	G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D#	23×
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	23×
vi	Am	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C · E	3×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	3×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 6 different chords appear 98 times in total; 4 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of C#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from E, the same G# is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for C#m. Am is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

A E EIV → Iplagal cadence C#mVI → III ×19
B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×3

The move to watch is A → E, heard 19 times. From the E side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the C#m side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C#m, land on C#, E, G# — 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.
When G# comes, swap the scale's B for B#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.
On Am, follow the chord's notes (A · C · E) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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 E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch
3 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is E; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is E, C#m, G#, A — I–vi–V/vi–IV from the E side, III–i–V–VI from the C#m side. G# is the interesting twist: in E it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in C#m it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on A → E (IV → I in E, VI → III in C#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on A, the song seals E as home.

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.

Pixies - Where Is My Mind Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano

Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.

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