Yes, the mountain. Is anyone really surprised? For MLK, it's a kind of Mount Doom. But that's not exactly what he meant at the time. Except kind of. We explore mountain imagery in "In a Nutshell", "What's Up with the Title," and…basically everywhere, and rightly so: the mountain stuff is far and away the most famous part of this speech.

Probably because it's, well, right there in the title.

You get the picture by now: mountains are a metaphor for any kind of long, arduous struggle (because they're hard to climb, duh) and also for the wisdom we obtain in surmounting those struggles. You can see far from the summit of a mountain, and seeing, especially seeing a long way, is another very common metaphor for knowledge, insight, and wisdom.

MLK actually isn't just talking about a generic mountain, though. Or, more precisely, he's using the mountain metaphor in the usual way—struggle, wisdom, etc.—but he's also referring to a specific mountain: the mountain that overlooks the Promised Land.

How do we know that? Because he specifically alludes to the story about that particular mountain.

Now, the mountain stuff comes at the very end, so it will take us a while to get there. But Dr. K actually lays the groundwork for it at the beginning, then brings that same story back to finish the speech with a rousing conclusion.

Let's see how that works.

No, the Other Memphis

Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" I would take my mental flight by Egypt, and I would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, on toward the Promised Land. (2.3–4)

After King's introductory chat, this is where he starts getting into the meaty stuff. He takes a magic carpet ride with God, who shows him A Whole Old World.

This trip happens in chronological order, but why start in Egypt? Well, Egypt's the setting of the Biblical story of the Exodus, told in the book of…Exodus and continuing through Deuteronomy. The Exodus was when the Israelites booked it—or we guess papyrus-ed it, since the book wasn't invented yet—out of slavery in Egypt, then wandered for years in the desert and finally made it to the Promised Land, the super-rad milky honey-y homeland assured them by God.

I Have Seen the Promised…Sand?

So MLK kicks things off with a story that serves as a reminder of African Americans' liberation from slavery.

But there's a hitch.

For the slaves, the Promised Land represented emancipation—something that, at the time of "I've Been to the Mountaintop," had happened over 100 years ago. And yet, as we know, Dr. King says African Americans still haven't reached the Promised Land:

But I want you to know tonight […] that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. (45.10)

What gives?

Well, Dr. K has rearranged the furniture a bit. He's made the Exodus story mean something a little bit new.

Yes, the slaves were emancipated a long time ago. They did reach that Promised Land. But it's not as if life in America had been great for Black folks since then. Racism, segregation, lynching: this is not exactly how anyone would imagine the Promised Land. So the real Promised Land must be more than just emancipation. It must mean winning equality, justice, and respect. Exactly what the Civil Rights Movement was fighting for. Exactly what MLK was still fighting for when he delivered "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

So, hang on, then—if we're no longer in the slavery period and we're not yet in the Promised Land…where are we?

Well, the middle part of the Exodus story is when the Israelites wander in the desert, trying to reach the Promised Land. So that, implies Dr. K, is where the country is at the time of this speech: in the desert. Trying to get out.

In short, the structure of "I've Been to the Mountaintop" echoes King's message. Like the speech itself, African Americans started in slavery; like the speech itself, they'll end in the Promised Land; and like the speech itself, they've got a lot of hard stuff to do in between.

On Top of Old Nebo

Now that we've figured out how to get to the PL, let's take a look at that last looming Important Thing…the mountain:

Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life—longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. (45)

As we said, the mountain here is kind of a generic mountain, symbolizing the struggle for equality. But, because of all the Exodus stuff, it's also a specific mountain: Mount Nebo, where Moses, leader of the Israelites, looked out and saw the Promised Land for the first and last time.

(Btw, did you hear Pixar is making a movie about Moses? True story. It's called Finding Nebo. We know, we have no shame.)

When King says he's "been to the mountaintop" and "seen the Promised Land," we know he can only be talking about Mount Nebo, which, like Mount Doom, is where all the old hardships are cast off and freedom is achieved at last.

MLK then draws a further parallel between himself and Moses: "I may not get there with you" (45.9). That's exactly what happened to Moses, who died up on Mount Nebo. He was barred from entering the Promised Land after a kerfuffle with the Big Guy over a rock and a stick.

Along Comes a King Singalong

Finally, it's particularly cool to listen to the audio here, especially the moment when King declares that he's "seen the Promised Land." It doesn't sound at all the way it looks on the page.

This spot demonstrates perfectly the difference between a speech and a text. Delivering a speech is kind of like composing or singing a song: you want the sound to express the words. If we write out the "melody" of this moment, it might look sort of like this:

And I've looked over,
and I've seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen
the Promised Land.

The sound of that long "seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen" makes us imagine that Dr. K really is up on top of a mountain, scanning the wide horizon, looking down on some flat place below. And the slowness of his speech here, that big pause, gives the sense that he's taking it all in and trying to find the words to tell us what he sees.

Is it more mountains? More desert? Nope. This really is the place. The Promised Land.