Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Chords | Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell Guitar Lesson


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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 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 Chords: Learn the progressions


The verse has a chromatic descending bass line as we move from Bm7/AG#m7b5Gmaj7. This is finished with an Em9, and the chromatic ascending line of F#GG#. Jamerson, of course, doesn’t stick to the chromatic
line!

You could call the verse chords Bm/ABm/G#Bm/G as well. Make sure you can see why!

The chorus starts on chord IV. GEm7F#m7Bm7. That’s IV – II – III – VI. The giveaway to what the key, and therefore Roman numerals is, are the two minor chords placed a tone apart (Em and F#m can only be chords II and III).

The middle 8 starts on the V chord and moves AF#mBm7GABb. 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. These are now the chords:

| Cm/Bb | Cm/A | Cm/Ab | Fm9 (G Ab Bb) |
| Cm/Bb | Cm/A | Cm/Ab | Fm7 Gm7 |

Or, is it better to write Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’s verse chords like this?

| Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 | Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 |
| Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 | F5 Eb/G | Ab |

You decide how you want to read the chords; perhaps it’s best to see how both ways are true. Here’s the chorus in the new key.

||: Ab Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 :|| 

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 the 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 part. Use my TAB as a starting point; here’s a link: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Guitar Lesson with TAB.

And here’s a chord chart that can serve as a reminder as you take to the stage with pretty much any soul 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.


Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Chord CHart | PDF + iReal Pro


Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDFAin’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.


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 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 | Related Pages


Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Guitar Lesson + TAB

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough TAB lesson.

With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell using TAB and chord analysis.

| 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.


Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics

When you can play Ain’t No Mountain High Enough's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.


The Funk Brothers tunes

The Funk Brothers tunes.

Motown’s house band, The Funk Brothers was the most successful group of studio musicians of all time.

Their contributions can be heard on Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Dancing In The Street, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, My Girl, and My Guy.


The Funk Brothers on the web

Listen to The Funk Brothers on Spotify.


Marvin Gaye tunes

Marvin Gaye sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

Marvin Gaye helped 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.


Marvin Gaye on the web

Listen to Marvin Gaye on Spotify.


Diana Ross tunes

Diana Ross sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

After success with The Supremes in the 60s, Diana Ross launched a solo career that kept her in the public consciousness for the next two decades.

Her best-known tunes include I’m Coming Out, Upside Down, Endless Love, and Chain Reaction.


Diana on the web

Listen to Diana Ross on Spotify.


Tammi Terrell tunes

Tammi Terrell sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

After a brief stint in James Brown’s band as a teenager, Tammi Terrell signed for Motown in 1965.

Having had a bright start with three major hits singing with Marvin Gaye, Tammi’s life took an extremely sad turn.


Tammi Terrell on the web

Listen to Tammi Terrell on Spotify.


About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson on Ain't No Mountain High Enough's chords.

This was a guitar lesson about Ain’t No Mountain High Enough‘s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.

Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.


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