Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 (F# G G#) |
Listen, baby.
Verse 1
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 (F# G G#) |
Ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 (F# G G#) |
If you need me, call me, no matter where you are, no matter how far, don’t worry, baby.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em7 F#m7 |
Just call my name, I’ll be there in a hurry, you don’t have to worry, ’cause baby, there.
Chorus 1
| G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 | G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 |
Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough.
| G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 | E5 | G |
Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you, baby. Remember the day?
Verse 2
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 (F# G G#) |
I set you free, I told you, you could always count on me, darling. From that day on.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em7 F#m7 |
I made a vow, I’ll be there when you want me some way, somehow, oh baby, there.
Chorus 2
| G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 | G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 |
Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough,
| G Em7 | F#m7 Bm7 | E5 | G |
Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you, baby.
Middle 8
| A | A | A | A |
Oh no darling, no wind, no rain, or
| F#m | Bm7 | G | G |
winters cold can stop me baby (no, no baby). ‘Cause you are my love.
| A | A | Bb | Bb |
If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll be there on the double, just send for me, oh baby.
Verse 3 (new key)
| Cm7/Bb | Am7b5 | Abmaj7 | Fm9 (G Ab Bb) |
My love is alive (oh) way down in my heart, although we are miles apart. If you ever
| Cm7/Bb | Am7b5 | Abmaj7 | Fm7 Gm7 |
need a helping hand, I’ll be there on the double, just as fast as I can. Don’t you know that, there.
Chorus 4
| Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 | Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 |
Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough.
| Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 | F5 | Ab |
Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you, baby, don’t you know that, there.
Outro chorus
||: Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 :||
Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough.
Ain’t no river wide enough, ain’t no mountain high enough,
Ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’s chords and progressions
The verse has a chromatic descending bass line as we move from Bm7/A – G#m7b5 – Gmaj7. This is finished off with an Em9, and the chromatic ascending line of F# – G – G#. Jameson, of course, doesn’t stick to the chromatic line!
The chorus starts on chord IV. G – Em7 – F#m7 – Bm7. That’s IV – II – III – VI. The giveaway here is the two minor chords that are a tone apart.
The m8 starts on the V chord and moves A – F#m – Bm7 – G – A – Bb. That’s V – III – VI – IV – V. The final Bb is where the semi-tone key change happens.
The final verse and following chorus are in the key of Cm/Eb, rather than where we started, in Bm/D.
The well-oiled machine behind Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Written by songwriters Ashford & Simpson, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough was initially a song Dusty Springfield wanted to record.
The songwriting duo politely declined as they thought they had the song that would get them in with Berry Gordy and his label Motown, calling it their golden egg.
In 1967, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell recorded it for Motown and had an enormous hit with it.
Three years later, Diana Ross recorded her version, which actually climbed higher in the charts than Marvin Gaye’s version.
However, it is Marvin and Tammi’s version that has stood the test of time and made it onto every Motown band’s set list since.
When mentioning Motown, and the band that played on this hit, The Funk Brothers, it would be criminal to not bring up the genius behind it all, bass player James Jamerson.
Jamerson truly is the secret behind Motown’s sound, check the second video in the playlist above which gives you a visual representation of the bass line.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Related pages
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Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye helped to shape the Motown sound as a drummer, session singer, writer, lead singer, and producer in the 60s and 70s.
Marvin’s hits include I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Can I Get A Witness, and politically fueled What’s Going On.
Go to Marvin Gaye.
Marvin Gaye on the web
Tammi Terrell
After a brief stint in James Brown’s band as a teenager, Tammi Terrell signed for Motown in 1965.
After a bright start with three major hits singing with Marvin Gaye, Tammi’s life took an extremely sad turn.
Go to Tammi Terrell.
Tammi Terrell on the web
