Those 'MOUNTAIN HIGH' Song Lyrics

Had always thought Spector's 1966 RIVER DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH lyrics preceded Ashford and Simpson's AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH/Valley Low theme and likely inspired it, but hadn't thought about it much beyond that.

Was listening to I WILL FOLLOW HIM by Peggy March and realized the same "ocean deep, mountain high" idea was in those lyrics from 1963.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jylY522Xx1k


So there are likely other examples of this high/low metaphor being used in songs ??

Also
interestingly, I WILL FOLLOW HIM's lyrics were applied to an already existing 1961, instrumental release :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tp7qJIBRPA


the lyrics were developed by Arthur Altman with Norman Gimbel.

"The Mountain's High" by Dick & Deedee in 1961 starts with the lyric "The mountain's high and the valley's so deep, can't get across to the other side".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 144man

"The Mountain's High" by Dick & Deedee in 1961 starts with the lyric "The mountain's high and the valley's so deep, can't get across to the other side".

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By gosh I think you nailed it 144man. This was a big hit in 1961:
[another discovered b-sider:]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU2rjoSXI34

Quote:

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Dick and Dee Dee [[or Dick and Deedee) is an American singer-songwriter duo that reached popularity in the early to mid-1960s. The group was founded by California classmates Richard Gosting and Mary Sperling. They eventually changed their names to Dick St. John and Dee Dee Sperling [[currently Dee Dee Phelps), respectively. They had their first hit in 1961 when "The Mountain's High" reached No. 2 on the Billboard 100.^[1]

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Quote:

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The Mountain's High

The first Dick and Dee Dee 45 rpm release [["I Want Someone" backed by "The Mountain's High") was on Lama Records, a small company started by their record producers, the Wilder brothers and Don Ralke. Their recordings were created with four voice tracks. Each of them sang two separate harmony lines. St. John sang the highest and lowest parts including the falsetto, and Dee Dee sang the middle notes. Without telling the duo, the record producers changed Mary's name to Dee Dee, something the duo did not discover until after the record was released.^[1][7]
The rock and roll song "The Mountain's High" became a smash hit in San Francisco.^[5] The single was leased to Liberty Records for national distribution^[1][4] and spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1] The track reached No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart,^[1][2][3] and eventually sold over a million copies.^{[7] [5]}


wiki

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anything predate it ???


hold up !!!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTDRLkLwbIA

written by Broadway team:

• Bernie Hanighen
• Raymond Scott

I believe the "mountain high/valley low" theme originated with gospel music and spirituals. I'll leave it to others smarter than me to verify that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Boogiedown

...
Also
interestingly, I WILL FOLLOW HIM's lyrics were applied to an already existing 1961, instrumental release :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tp7qJIBRPA


the lyrics were developed by Arthur Altman with Norman Gimbel.

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Well I just learned something. Never knew that I will follow him was originally a song called Chariot and that the lyrics of Chariot were entirely different. Learn something new here every day.

i googled the original french lyrics of Frank Pourcel's "Chariot" and then translated them. It is an entirely different song.

CHARIOT


Cart, cart, if you want me
To accompany you at the end of the days
Let me come near you
On the great wagon of wood and canvas
We will go away
On the side where we will see the light of day
In the first reflections of the sky
Before the heat of the sun
Under the last star
The plain, the plain, the plain
Will no longer have a border
The earth, the earth, will be our domain
That I love, that I love
That old wagon that rocks
Who rocks, who rocks
If you want me
To sleep by your side always
Summer under the silver moon
Winter in the snow and the wind
So tell me I'm going with you
The plain, the plain, the plain
Will no longer have a border
The earth, the earth, will see our domain
That I love, that I love
This old wagon that shakes
Who trembles, who trembles
If you want me
Of my life and my crazy love
Along streams and woods
At the heart of dangers and joys
So tell me I'm going with you