Chords + Lyrics | Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
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 D/F# | 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
Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough,
Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you, baby.
Middle 8
| A5 | A5 | A5 | A5 |
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.
| A5 | A5 | Bb5 | Bb5 |
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 Eb/G | 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 Backing Track | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 443Hz. In the backing track, I’ve done this job for you by detuning it.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The verse has a chromatic descending bass line as we move from Bm7/A–G#m7b5–Gmaj7. This is finished with an Em9, and the chromatic ascending line of F#–G–G#. Jamerson, of course, doesn’t stick to the chromatic line!
You could call the verse chords Bm/A–Bm/G#–Bm/G as well. Make sure you can see why!
Here’s the full verse progression:
||: Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 (F# G G#) :||
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em7 F#m7 |
The second verse is shorter, it doesn’t have the repeat.
Chorus
The chorus starts on chord IV. G–Em7–F#m7–Bm7. That’s IV – II – III – VI. The giveaway to what the key, and therefore Roman numerals, are the two minor chords placed a tone apart (Em and F#m can only be chords II and III).
Middle 8
The middle 8 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.
Verse (new key)
The final verse and following chorus are in the key of Cm/Eb, rather than where we started, in Bm/D. These are now the chords:
| Cm/Bb | Cm/A | Cm/Ab | Fm9 (G Ab Bb) |
| Cm/Bb | Cm/A | Cm/Ab | Fm7 Gm7 |
Further down this guitar lesson, you get TAB examples for all sections so you can find a part that suits you and your band.
Chorus (new key)
Here’s the chorus in the new key.
||: Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 :||
| F5 Eb/G | Ab |
Diana’s stops
If you want to include the stops found in Diana Ross’s version of this legendary tune, use these chords before you go back to a chorus again.
|| Ab N.C Ab | Gm7 N.C | Ab N.C | Bb B C :||
To ensure you enjoy playing this masterpiece for many years to come, put plenty of time into crafting your parts.
Here’s a chord chart that can serve as a reminder as you take to the stage with pretty much any soul or wedding band. In my experience, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough is guaranteed to be on the setlist, and rightfully so!
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, something I’ve had to do at least 50% of the time. Always down a tone, starting on an Am/G.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | TAB
Let’s break down Ain’t No Mountain High Enough section by section using TAB. The intro and verse offer loads of possibilities, so I’ve included four different ideas. Here’s the first one:
We start with a Bm7 chord and maintain the Bm triad shape while the bass drops chromatically. Loop this part a few times before moving on to the next idea.
If the first idea blended smoothly into the mix, this second one—with sharp stabs—is much more assertive. Play it like this and you’ll definitely stand out in the band.
Here’s a third approach to the verse. This version includes the final two bars that lead into the chorus.
It’s even more rhythmic and percussive. I’ve intentionally suggested you vary which strings the chord stabs land on—it breathes life into the part and avoids sounding robotic.
Chorus + Middle 8
The fourth way to play the verse will be revealed as we look at the key change, let’s now instead go to the chorus, here’s idea 1.
This chorus version keeps everything on strings 2–4. That’s crucial for finding a “pocket” in the mix that works well for guitar.
In the final bar, I break the rule slightly by sneaking in string 6. Try it with the backing tracks—it works, but only because that note is super short.
Here’s another way you could play the chorus, I’ve now included what happens before we go to the middle 8 as well.
In this version, we stick to strings 2–4 again, which allows us to use loads of hammer-ons and make the part more intricate. That focused frequency range really lets you shine without clashing with other instruments.
In the final two bars, we move from Em – D/F# – G. This is a great place to kick on a boost and strip things down—just root and 5th: E5 – F# – G5.
This all takes us to the middle 8 which, in my opinion, should be played like this:
Here, I’m going for big, open rhythms with a power chord on the first A (chord V). There’s an A major pentatonic lick that takes us to F#m, where a new syncopated rhythm kicks in.
That sliding F#–G moment is a cool little detail—it breaks the rhythm nicely. When A returns, we play a more intense variation of the original rhythm.
We then shift to Bb, setting up the key change. Use the same rhythm on Bb as you did on A.
Key Change
This is the fourth approach to playing the verse.
We start with long, drawn-out rhythms to leave space—because by now, everyone else in the band is probably overplaying.
On the repeat, we bring back the stabs. The final bar includes a new chord lick I’m especially pleased with.
Here’s the chorus in a new key.
This might just be the best way to play Ain’t No Mountain’s chorus. Feel free to mix this with the previous chorus ideas to eventually create your own version.
If you listen closely to the original recording—you’ve now learned every section. However, there’s one more bit I often encounter live…
Many live versions include Diana Ross’s iconic breakdown, followed by another chorus. Here’s how that looks in TAB:
When you can play all this TAB, test yourself by playing with my backing tracks, using only the chord chart to guide you.
The well-oiled machine behind the hit
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 to 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 it was a timeless hit.
Three years later, Diana Ross recorded her version, which 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 Chords: Continue Learning
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