Tracy Chapman ~ Mountains o' Things

The mind is a mysterious thing, indeed. Tonight, meandering through non-essential stories on the web something I ran across sparked Tracy Chapman's "Mountain o' Things" and it has been playing on a loop since. Like so many of Tracy Chapman's songs, the rhythm, the intensity of her presentation and the rawness of her voice can grip you and hold on, and if so it may take a while for the lyrics to really sink in. Due to the trigger story some lines particularly resonate tonight:

Good people are only
My stepping stones
It's gonna take all my mountains o' things
To surround me
Keep all my enemies away
Keep my sadness and loneliness at bay ...  

And then, there's of course the last lines:

I'll be dreaming, dreaming... dreaming...

"Mountains o' Things" was included in her debut album which was released more than 25 years ago ... and even after all that time the song still speaks volumes and doesn't appear to have lost any of its pertinence ~

Mountains o’ Things

Tracy Chapman

The life I've always wanted

I guess I'll never have

I'll be working for somebody else

Until I'm in my grave

I'll be dreaming of a live of ease

And mountains Oh mountains o' things

To have a big expensive car

Drag my furs on the ground

And have a maid that I can tell

To bring me anything

Everyone will look at me with envy and with greed

I'll revel in their attention

And mountains Oh mountains o' things

Sweet lazy life

Champagne and caviar

I hope you'll come and find me

Cause you know who we are

Those who deserve the best in life

And know what money's worth

And those whose sole misfortune

Was having mountains o' nothing at birth

Oh they tell me

There's still time to save my soul

They tell me

Renounce all

Renounce all those material things you gained by

Exploiting other human beings

Consume more than you need

This is the dream

Make you pauper

Or make you queen

I won't die lonely

I'll have it all prearranged

A grave that's deep and wide enough

For me and all my mountains o' things

Mostly I feel lonely

Good good people are

Good people are only

My stepping stones

It's gonna take all my mountains o' things

To surround me

Keep all my enemies away

Keep my sadness and loneliness at bay

I'll be dreaming, dreaming... dreaming...

Songwriters: TRACY L CHAPMAN

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

For non-commercial use only.