Mountains – English Lyrics

• By: Prince and the Revolution
• Album: Parade

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the vibrant world of Prince's "Mountains"! This song, a collaborative gem with The Revolution, offers rich, poetic lyrics that beautifully explore themes of love, hope, and overcoming adversity. Learning the language through this track will not only introduce you to Prince's unique lyrical style but also to powerful expressions of perseverance and belief in love, making it a special and deeply resonant piece of music.

[English]

Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy

17 mountains stood so high.

The sea surrounded them and together they would be

The only thing that ever made u cry

U said the devil told u that another mountain would appear

Everytime somebody broke your heart

He said the sea would 1 day overflow with all your tears,

And love will always leave u lonely

But I say it's only mountains and the sea

Love will conquer if u just believe (oh yeah)

It's only mountains and the sea

There's nothing greater, u and me

Once upon a time in a haystack of despair,

Happiness sometimes hard 2 find. (yeah)

Africa divided, hijack in the air,

It's enough to make you want to lose your mind

But I say it's only mountains and the sea

Love will conquer if u just believe (Oh yeah)

It's only mountains and the sea

There's nothing greater, u and me

Guitars and drums on the 1

(Bobby on the drum - ah!)

It's only mountains (oh yeah) and the sea. (and the girls sing)

There's nothing greater, u and me

[Starvation]

Mountains

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mountains /ˈmaʊntɪnz/ B1	noun - large natural elevations of the earth's surface
sea /siː/ A1	noun - the expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of deep affection
conquer /ˈkɒŋkə(r)/ B2	verb - overcome and take control of
believe /bɪˈliːv/ A2	verb - accept that something is true
greater /ˈɡreɪtə(r)/ A2	adjective - of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average
cry /kraɪ/ A1	verb - shed tears
Fantasy /ˈfæntəsi/ B1	noun - the faculty or activity of imagining things
despair /dɪˈspeə(r)/ B2	noun - the complete loss or absence of hope
Happiness /ˈhæpinəs/ A2	noun - the state of being happy
divided /dɪˈvaɪdɪd/ B1	verb - separate or be separated into parts
Starvation /stɑːˈveɪʃn/ C1	noun - suffering or death caused by lack of food
lonely /ˈləʊnli/ A2	adjective - sad because one has no friends or company
high /haɪ/ A1	adjective - of great vertical extent
devil /ˈdevl/ B1	noun - the supreme spirit of evil

Key Grammar Structures

• Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy

  ➔ Past Participle as Adjective (Passive Sense)

  ➔ "called" is a past participle used as an adjective to describe "a land," indicating that the land was named Fantasy.

• The only thing that ever made u cry

  ➔ Relative Clause (Defining) & Causative Verb

  ➔ "that ever made u cry" is a relative clause providing essential information about "the only thing." "made u cry" is a causative verb construction (make + object + base form of verb).

• U said the devil told u that another mountain would appear

  ➔ Reported Speech with Modal "would"

  ➔ This sentence uses reported speech to convey what "u said" and what "the devil told u." The modal verb "would" is used to report a future event from a past perspective.

• And love will always leave u lonely

  ➔ Future Simple with Adverb of Frequency

  ➔ "will leave" indicates a future prediction or certainty. The adverb "always" emphasizes that this is a recurring or constant outcome.

• Love will conquer if u just believe

  ➔ First Conditional

  ➔ This is a first conditional sentence expressing a real and possible situation in the future: if the condition "u just believe" is met, then the result "Love will conquer" will happen.

• There's nothing greater, u and me

  ➔ Existential "There is" with Comparative Adjective

  ➔ "There's" (There is) introduces the existence of something. "greater" is a comparative adjective, implying "greater than anything else" or "greater than what we have."

• Happiness sometimes hard 2 find.

  ➔ Ellipsis (Omission of "is") & Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The verb "is" is omitted before "hard" (ellipsis), which is common in informal speech or song lyrics. "2 find" (to find) is an infinitive of purpose, explaining *why* happiness is hard.

• Africa divided, hijack in the air,

  ➔ Past Participle as Adjective (Descriptive)

  ➔ "divided" is a past participle used as an adjective to describe "Africa," highlighting its state of being split or separated. This is often used to describe a condition or result.

• It's enough to make you want to lose your mind

  ➔ "Enough to" Construction & Causative Verb

  ➔ "enough to make" indicates that something has a sufficient degree or quantity to cause a particular effect. "make you want" is a causative verb construction (make + object + base form of verb).