On “Borderline,” the lead single from Tame Impala’s fourth studio album, Kevin Parker deals with themes of a relationship on its last legs while questioning the nature of love. The track was premiered on Saturday Night Live on March 30, 2019, and included slightly different lyrics. The full song leaked on April 11, 2019, the day before the official release.

“Borderline” was preceded by standalone single “Patience” which was released a little over a week earlier.

Parker appropriates “borderline,” most frequently employed as an adjective, as a noun. While immigration and borders continue to be prominent topics on a global scale, here he uses “borderline” as a personal metaphor for the rocky in-between spaces of a turbulent relationship. “Borderline” further carries, as an adjective, connotations of uncertainty and risk. People can be described, for example, as “borderline alcoholics,” a theme that crops up in the refrain (“Starting to sober up”). There is also “borderline personality disorder” (BPD), which the National Institute of Mental Health says often causes problems in relationships, which is itself the theme of the song.