River Deep – Mountain High | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| N.C F |3/4 Bb (intro riff) |4/4 Bb (riff) | Bb (riff) |
Verse 1
| Bb N.C | N.C | Eb | Eb | Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb |
When I was a little girl, I had a rag doll, only doll I’ve ever owned.
| Bb | Bb | Eb | Eb | Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb |
Now I love you just the way I loved that rag doll. But only now my love has grown.
Bridge 1
||: F | F | Bb | Bb :|| x3
And it gets stronger, in every way.
And it gets deeper, let me say.
And it gets higher, day by day.
Chorus 1
| Ab | Ab | Ab (Ab G Ab) | Ab (Bb Ab G Ab) |
And do I love you, my oh my.
| Bb | Bb | Bb (Bb A Bb) | Bb (C Bb A Bb) |
Yeah, river deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah.
| Ab | Ab | Ab (Ab G Ab) | Ab (Bb Ab G Ab) |
If I lost you would I cry.
| Bb | Bb | Bb |6/4 Bb (F) |
Oh how I love you baby. Baby, baby, baby.
Instrumental 1 (as intro)
|3/4 riff |4/4 Bb (riff) | Bb (riff) |
Verse 2
When you were a young boy did you have a puppy, that always followed you around?
Well, I’m gonna be as faithful as that puppy. No, I’ll never let you down.
Bridge 2
‘Cause it grows stronger, like a river flows.
And it gets bigger baby, and heaven knows.
And it gets sweeter baby, as it grows.
Chorus 2
And do I love you, my oh my.
Yeah, river deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And if I lost you would I cry.
| Bb | Bb | Bb | Bb |6/4 Bb (F Ab A) |
Oh how I love you baby. Baby, baby, baby.
Middle 8 (new riff)
||: Bb (m8 riff) | Bb (m8 riff) :|| x6
I love you baby like a flower loves the spring.
And I love you baby like a Robin loves to sing.
||: Eb (m8 riff) | Eb (m8 riff) :||
And I love you baby like a school boy loves his pet.
| Bb (riff) | Bb (riff) | Bb N.C (Bb F Ab) | Bb (F Ab A) |
And I love you baby, river deep, mountain high.
||: Bb (riff) | Bb (riff) :|| x6
Oh baby, hey yeah, baby, oh, baby, yeah, hey, yeah.
Chorus 3
Do I love you my oh my, oh my.
Yeah river deep, mountain high, yeah, yeah, yeah.
If I lost you would I cry.
Oh, how I love you baby. Baby, baby, baby.
Outro
|3/4 Bb (intro riff) |4/4 Bb (riff) | Bb (riff) | Bb N.C |
River Deep – Mountain High Chords: Discover the Secret to Perfecting the Song
Tina Turner‘s epic River Deep – Mountain High is surprisingly not featured in too many working soul bands’ repertoires. I believe this is due to the arrangement’s varying time signatures, rather than any unusual chords.
I’ve played in many bands that attempted this tune without rehearsal or with a last-minute band member, and it often ended in disaster.
However, if you have a steady band lineup, this can be turned into an advantage. All you need to do is get the time signatures right, and you could have an awesome tune—possibly even the highlight of the night!
Once the time signature issues are sorted, the verse chords of River Deep – Mountain High move between the IV and I chords in the key of Bb, like this:
| Bb (I) N.C | N.C | Eb (IV) | Eb |
| Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb |
| Bb | Bb | Eb | Eb |
| Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb |
The bridge follows a simple V – I progression, like this:
||: F (V) | F | Bb (I) | Bb :|| x3
After using the three most obvious chords (I, IV, and V), the chorus begins with the bVIIx, also known as the backdoor dominant. The notes in brackets are bass lines.
| Ab (bVIIx) | Ab | Ab (Ab G Ab) | Ab (Bb Ab G Ab) |
| Bb (I) | Bb | Bb (Bb A Bb) | Bb (C Bb A Bb) |
| Ab | Ab | Ab (Ab G Ab) | Ab (Bb Ab G Ab) |
| Bb | Bb | Bb |6/4 Bb (F) |
For a complete time signature analysis and TAB to guide you and your band, follow this link: River Deep – Mountain High – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve learned this, a simple chord chart is all you’ll need as a reminder on the night.
River Deep – Mountain High Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: River Deep – Mountain High chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: River Deep – Mountain High chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
River Deep – Mountain High is one of the greatest songs of all time!
Ranked at #33 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, River Deep – Mountain High was written and produced by Phil Spector.
The track was part of a bigger deal where Spector signed Ike and Tina Turner to his label, Phillies. River Deep – Mountain High was also the title of the album, released in 1966.
All songs Spector recorded with Ike and Tina used his legendary “wall of sound” technique, where several instruments would play the same part simultaneously, rather than as overdubs.
This technique was later used by Jeff Lynne in the late ’80s when he recorded End of the Line with the Traveling Wilburys, although Lynne applied it to acoustic guitars only.
To understand more about production, it’s important to grasp the difference between this approach and overdubbing.
River Deep – Mountain High Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: River Deep – Mountain High (Tina Turner) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: