King Of The Mountain – English Lyrics

• By: Midnight Oil
• Album: Blue Sky Mining

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

- Greetings, New York.

This is Midnight Oil.

We've decided to play some songs

in the street for you today.

We chose a special location,

I'll leave it to you to work why.

For a man who believes in the power of nature

and the power of love,

the power of people as well.

(upbeat rock music)

♪ Walking through the high dry grass ♪

♪ Pushing my way through slow ♪

♪ Yellow belly black snake sleeping on a red rock ♪

♪ Waiting for the stranger to go ♪

♪ Sugar train stops at the crossing ♪

♪ Cane cockies cursing below ♪

♪ Bad storm coming ♪

♪ Better run to the top of the mountain ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Rain in the valley below ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Rain in the valley below ♪

♪ Well, you could say you're Peter ♪

♪ Say you're Paul ♪

♪ Don't put me up on your bedroom wall ♪

♪ Call me king of the mountain ♪

♪ Blacksmith fires up the bellows ♪

♪ Cane cutters burning the load ♪

♪ Workers of the world ♪

♪ Run to the top of the mountain ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Rain in the valley below ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Rain in the valley below ♪

♪ Well, you could say you're Peter ♪

♪ Say you're Paul ♪

♪ Don't put me up on your bedroom wall ♪

♪ Call me king of the mountain ♪

♪ Well, I can't take the hands from my face ♪

♪ There are some things we can't replace, yeah ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Rain in the valley below ♪

♪ Mountain in the shadow of light ♪

♪ Well, you could say you're Peter ♪

♪ Say you're Paul ♪

♪ Don't put me up on your bedroom wall ♪

♪ Call me king of the mountain ♪

♪ Well, you could say you're Peter ♪

♪ Say you're Paul ♪

♪ Don't put me up on your bedroom wall ♪

♪ Call me the king of the mountain ♪

♪ Over liquid tarmac wastelands of cactus and heat ♪

♪ Down cobblestone alleyways of washing day sheets ♪

♪ Up ghost prairie mountains of sunset and space ♪

♪ Down the road, a familiar place, across the wilderness ♪

♪ Out further than the bush, I will follow you ♪

♪ I will follow you, I will follow you ♪

(crowd cheering)

People who got pushed to the wall

for things that you believe in,

you don't give in.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mountain /ˈmaʊntən/ A1	noun - a very large hill, especially one with a peak
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot
shadow /ˈʃædoʊ/ A2	noun - a dark area where light is blocked by an object
light /laɪt/ A1	noun - brightness from the sun, a lamp, etc. adjective - not heavy or strong
rain /reɪn/ A1	noun - water that falls from the clouds in drops
valley /ˈvæli/ A2	noun - a low area of land between hills or mountains
king /kɪŋ/ A1	noun - a male ruler of a country
follow /ˈfɑloʊ/ A2	verb - to go after someone or something
stranger /ˈstreɪndʒər/ A2	noun - someone you do not know
worker /ˈwɜrkər/ A1	noun - a person who does a particular job
world /wɜrld/ A1	noun - the earth and all the people on it
fire /faɪr/ A1	noun - flames or the burning of something verb - to start burning something
storm /stɔrm/ A2	noun - a violent weather condition with strong winds and rain
believe /bɪˈliːv/ A2	verb - to think something is true
nature /ˈneɪtʃər/ A2	noun - the physical world and everything in it
power /ˈpaʊər/ A2	noun - the ability to control or influence something
wilderness /ˈwɪldɜrnəs/ B1	noun - an area of land that is wild and natural
familiar /fəˈmɪliər/ B1	adjective - well-known from long or close association

Key Grammar Structures

• We've decided to play some songs in the street for you today.

  ➔ Present Perfect

  ➔ The phrase "We've decided" uses the present perfect tense to indicate an action that occurred in the past but has relevance to the present.

• For a man who believes in the power of nature and the power of love,

  ➔ Relative Clause

  ➔ The phrase "who believes" is a relative clause that modifies "a man," providing additional information about him.

• ♪ Waiting for the stranger to go ♪

  ➔ Present Continuous for Future

  ➔ The phrase "Waiting for the stranger to go" uses the present continuous tense to indicate a future action.

• ♪ Well, you could say you're Peter ♪

  ➔ Modal Verb (Could)

  ➔ The word "could" is a modal verb used to express possibility or suggestion.

• ♪ Don't put me up on your bedroom wall ♪

  ➔ Negative Imperative

  ➔ The phrase "Don't put me up" is a negative imperative, used to give a direct command not to do something.

• ♪ Well, I can't take the hands from my face ♪

  ➔ Modal Verb (Can't)

  ➔ The phrase "I can't take" uses the modal verb "can't" to express inability.

• ♪ Out further than the bush, I will follow you ♪

  ➔ Future Simple

  ➔ The phrase "I will follow" uses the future simple tense to indicate a future action.

• People who got pushed to the wall for things that you believe in, you don't give in.

  ➔ Relative Clause with Past Tense

  ➔ The phrase "who got pushed" is a relative clause using the past tense to describe a past action.