This clip is from John Denver’s live album “John Denver : Wildlife Concert” .
He brilliantly sings this version of Rocky Mountain High which has louder acoustics and percussion than the “common” version ..

If you are interested to buy the album (which has many other good songs), here’s the link – http://www.amazon.com/The-Wildlife-Concert-John-Denver/dp/B000002AAG

Thanks for watching !

1. Rocky Mountain High
2. Sunshine On My Shoulders
3. Saturday Night In Toledo, Ohio
4. It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie
5. Bells Of Rhymney
6. Indian Lord’s Prayer
7. Durango Mountain Caballero
8. Thought Of You
9. Rhymes And Reasons
10. The Eagle And The Hawk

11. Take Me Home, Country Roads
12. Grandma’s Feather Bed
13. Seasons Of The Heart
14. Poem…Ambulance Down In The Valley
15. Jimmy Newman
16. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
17. I Want To Live
18. Heart To Heart
19. Annie’s Song
20. Calypso
21. Perhaps Love
22. This Old Guitar
[end]

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a day that I could give you
I’d give to you the day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you
I’d sing a song to make you feel this way

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a tale that I could tell you
I’d tell a tale sure to make you smile
If I had a wish that I could wish for you
I’d make a wish for sunshine for all the while

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high
Sunshine almost always

“Sunshine on My Shoulders” (sometimes titled simply “Sunshine“) is a song recorded and co-written by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was originally released as an album track on 1971’s Poems, Prayers & Promises and later, as a single in 1973. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. in early 1974.

Song history

Denver described how he wrote “Sunshine on My Shoulders”: “I wrote the song in Minnesota at the time I call ‘late winter, early spring’. It was a dreary day, gray and slushy. The snow was melting and it was too cold to go outside and have fun, but God, you’re ready for spring. You want to get outdoors again and you’re waiting for that sun to shine, and you remember how sometimes just the sun itself can make you feel good. And in that very melancholy frame of mind I wrote ‘Sunshine on My Shoulders’.”

The album version features an extra verse, not heard on the Singles charts, due to the song’s length. In addition to Denver’s wondering on if he had a day and a song. In the second verse, It mentions Denver’s wondering if he had a tale, and a wish. The song ends with the words “ALMOST ALWAYS”, being held on until the song’s end.

It was originally the B-side of one of his earlier songs, “I’d Rather Be a Cowboy”. As the Vietnam War came to an end, the song took on a new significance and began to receive airplay on adult contemporary radio stations. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90 on January 26, 1974 and moved into the number one spot nine weeks later, remaining at #1 for one week. The song also topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks in 1974.^[1] Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1974.

Personnel

• John Denver – 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, vocals
• Mike Taylor – acoustic guitar
• Richard Kniss – double bass
• Frank Owens – piano

The song also features strings and winds, including oboes.

In popular culture

A 2 1/2-hour made-for-television movie titled Sunshine, which aired on NBC in 1973, used the song as a theme. The movie starred Cliff DeYoung and Cristina Raines. It told the story of a young mother dying from cancer.^[2] High ratings prompted a TV series (also Sunshine) which ran for three months during the summer of 1974. The short-lived series began where the movie left off with the young widowed father (DeYoung) raising his stepdaughter (Elizabeth Cheshire). It is said by many who were close to the woman whom the movie was based on including her parents that Denver used quotes from her journals in writing the song. Credit was never given and this may have been part of a lawsuit that was considered if not filed after the release of the movie.

In the movie Super Troopers, the character Farva explains to the rookie Rabbit how John Denver won the country music award for best artist. He refers to Mr. Denver as, “Mr. Sunshine on my God Damn Shoulders” John Denver.

Andy Williams released a version in 1974 on his album, The Way We Were.

In a 1994 episode of The Simpsons, a hippie is seen singing the song during a heat wave, and is subsequently punched in the face by a passing stranger.^[3]

In a late-1990s Internet Rumor; John Denver was alleged to be a former CIA sniper and had a technique of distracting his quarry by using a pocket mirror to reflect sunlight onto the target’s shoulder before delivering the kill shot, and was inspired to write the song.

In the John Denver Biopic Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (2000) it is played when Denver (Chad Lowe) takes his new glider out for a Test flight. This final scene is based on the real life event that killed Denver in 1997. The 1996 re-recorded version is the one played.

The song is featured in a 2005 episode of the CBS drama Cold Case, entitled “The Woods”.

The song was covered on Carly Rae Jepsen‘s first studio album Tug of War in 2008, and was released as her first single.

The song was covered on Vanessa da Mata sixth studio album Segue o Som in 2014.

Chart performance

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Sunshine On My Shoulders’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDSMS

As featured on The Essential John Denver. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/EssentialJD?IQid=JohnDSMS
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/JDSOMSGPlay?IQid=JohnDSMS
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EJDAmazon?IQid=JohnDSMS

More from John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads: https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://youtu.be/SneCkM0bJq0
Rocky Mountain High: https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDSMS

Follow John Denver
Website: http://johndenver.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnDenver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johndenvermusic

Subscribe to John Denver on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSub?IQid=JohnDSMS

———

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like a mountain in springtime
Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like a mountain in springtime
Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

“Annie’s Song” (also known as “Annie’s Song (You Fill Up My Senses)“) is a folk rock and country song recorded and written by singer-songwriter John Denver. The song was released as a single from Denver’s album, Back Home Again. It was his second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. “Annie’s Song” also went to number one on the Easy Listening chart.^[1] Billboard ranked it as the No. 25 song for 1974.

It went to number one in the United Kingdom, where it was Denver’s only major hit single (many of Denver’s American hits were more familiar in the UK through cover versions by other artists). Four years later, an instrumental version also became flutist James Galway‘s only major British hit.

Background

“Annie’s Song” was written as an ode to Denver’s wife at the time, Annie Martell Denver. Denver “wrote this song in July 1973 in about ten-and-a-half minutes one day on a ski lift” to the top of Ajax Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, as the physical exhilaration of having “just skied down a very difficult run” and the feeling of total immersion in the beauty of the colors and sounds that filled all senses inspired him to think about his wife.^[2][3] Annie Denver recalls the beginnings: “It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down… Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a prayer.”

“The first time I heard ‘Annie’s Song,’ I told John it had the same melody as Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, Second Movement,” says Milt Okun. “He walked over to the piano, sat for an hour and came back, and the only thing remaining from Tchaikovsky was the first five notes. It was fantastic.”^[4]

Cover versions

Ville Valo version

On July 4, 2016, Ville Valo, vocalist of the rock band HIM, released a Finnish-language translation of “Annie’s Song”, titled “Olet mun kaikuluotain” (“You’re My Sonar”).^[5] The song had previously been performed in Finnish in 1976 by Freeman, with lyrics by Hector.^[5] Ville Valo’s version was released as a tribute to Finnish label Love Records, who celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2016.^[5] Valo’s version was also the first release from the label in over 30 years.^[5] Valo commented on the song, stating: “‘Kaikuluotain’ is a childhood favorite of mine, to the beat of which many a sleepless night ended up in tears. To this day it gives me cold shivers and goosebumps.”^[5]

Valo’s version also received a music video, directed by Ykä Järvinen.^[6] Released on July 11, 2016, the video features scenes of Valo walking around Helsinki, done in tribute to Aki Kaurismäki‘s film Calamari Union.^[6] The single eventually reached number one on the Finnish Singles Chart, while the video received the Emma Award for “Video of the Year” in 2017.^[7][8]

Other notable cover versions

Glen Campbell recorded a version of the song but was not released until 1995 on his album The Essential Glen Campbell Volume Three.^[9]

American punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song on their album Love Their Country in 2006.^[10]

British folk trio Honey Ryder covered “Annie’s Song” as a single in December 2012.^[11]

British musical theatre actor Daniel Boys covered the song on his 2009 debut album “So Close”.^[12]

Spanish dramatic tenor Placido Domingo also covered the song, featuring John Denver himself on lead guitar^[13].

In the UK the song was used as the basis for “The Greasy Chip Butty Song“, primarily associated with fans of the football team Sheffield United F.C..^[14]

The Foundation for a Better Life won a CINE award for their video featuring the song in 2014.^[15][16]

Karel Gott covered the song in Czech language as “Když Milenky Pláčou”.^[17]

Chart performance

Certification

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Annie’s Song’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDAS

As featured on The Essential John Denver. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/EssentialJD?IQid=JohnDAS
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/JDASGPlay?IQid=JohnDAS
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EJDAmazon?IQid=JohnDAS

More from John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads: https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo
Rocky Mountain High: https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://youtu.be/SneCkM0bJq0

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDAS

Follow John Denver
Website: http://johndenver.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnDenver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johndenvermusic

Subscribe to John Denver on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSub?IQid=JohnDAS

———

[Verse 1]
Well, life’s on a farm is kinda laid back
Ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack
It’s early to rise, early in the sack thank God I’m a country boy
Well, a simple kind of life never did me no harm
Raising me a family and working on the farm
My days are all filled with an easy country charm, thank God I’m a country boy

[Chorus]
Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle
When the sun’s coming up, I got cakes on the griddle
And life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle, thank God I’m a country boy

[Verse 2]
When the work’s all done and the sun’s setting low
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow
The kids are asleep so I keep it kinda low, thank God I’m a country boy
I’d play “Sally Goodin'” all day if I could
But the Lord and my wife wouldn’t take it very good
So I fiddle when I can and I work when I should, thank God I’m a country boy

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
I wouldn’t trade my life for diamonds or jewels
I never was one of them money hungry fools
I’d rather have my fiddle and my farming tools, thank God I’m a country boy
Yeah, city folk driving in a black limousine
A lot of sad people thinking that’s-a mighty keen
Son, let me tell you now exactly what I mean, thank God I’m a country boy

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]
Well, my fiddle was my daddy’s till the day he died
And he took me by the hand and held me close to his side
He said, “Live a good life and play my fiddle with pride
And thank God you’re a country boy.”

My Daddy taught me young how to hunt and how to whittle
He taught me how to work and play a tune on the fiddle
He taught me how to love and how to give just a little
Thank God I’m a country boy

[Chorus]

“Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, also known as “Country Boy”, is a song written by John Martin Sommers^[1] and recorded by American singer/songwriter John Denver.

The song was originally included on Denver’s 1974 album Back Home Again.

A version recorded live on August 26, 1974, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles was included on his 1975 album An Evening with John Denver.

The live version was released as a single and went to No. 1 on both the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles ^[2] and Billboard Hot 100 charts.^[3] The song topped both charts for one week each, first the country chart (on May 31), and the Hot 100 chart a week later.

“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” was one of six songs released in 1975 that topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. Denver’s two-sided hit “I’m Sorry“/”Calypso” also received that distinction.

Background

The song was written by John Martin Sommers, a guitar/banjo/fiddle/mandolin player in Denver’s backup band, on December 31, 1973 (coincidentally Denver’s thirtieth birthday) when he was driving from his home in Aspen, Colorado to Los Angeles.^[4]

The song is remarkably similar to a 1973 song by Arlo Guthrie, from his album “Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys”, entitled “Uncle Jeff.”

Content

Sommers recalls that at the time he was feeling “peaceful, happy and content” with his lot in life, and started scribbling some notes about his blissful state along the way. They served as the inspiration for the song.

Structure

The song is in cut (2/2) time that is typical of two-step. Both the verse and chorus comprise eight measures with 3/2 added between the first four measures and last three measures. Emotionally, this creates an intended slight stall.

Chart performance

John Denver version

Billy Dean version

Cover versions

• A cover version was released by country music artist Billy Dean in 2004; Dean’s cover peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.
• A Western version was recorded by Alvin and the Chipmunks for their 1981 album Urban Chipmunk.
• Canadian country music artist Brad Johner did a cover on his 2003 album Free.
• Canadian Country rock group The Road Hammers recorded a version for their 2009 album The Road Hammers II.
• Hampton the Hampster performs a cover of the song on Hampsterdance Hits in 2001.
• Christian group Point of Grace has been performing a cover of the song in recent concerts, calling it “Thank God I’m a Country Girl.”
• Australian Lee Kernaghan performs a cover of the song.
• Swedish eurodance/pop band Rednex recorded cover as B-side song for their 2008 single “Football Is Our Religion“
• Finnish folk/country band Finntrio recorded a Finnish language translation Kyllä maalla on mukavaa of the song.
• Branson, Missouri-based band The Haygoods covered the song
• Dolly Parton has occasionally performed a bluegrass arrangement of the song in her concerts; she also performed the song on an episode of her mid-70s variety show Dolly!
• The German cover band Village Girls covered it under the title “Thank God I’m a Country Girl”^[9]

In popular culture

• The song’s live version has been played during the seventh inning stretch at Baltimore Orioles home games beginning in the summer of 1975 and without interruption since 1994. Denver performed it in person atop the Orioles dugout in Game 1 of the 1983 World Series and again fourteen years later during a 12–8 victory over the Detroit Tigers on September 20, 1997, just 22 days prior to his death.^[10] The song is also played during the seventh-inning stretch at Atlanta Braves, Buffalo Bisons, and Vanderbilt Commodores games. It is also played regularly at Montana Grizzlies, Washington Glory, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Spokane Chiefs, and Spokane Indians home games.
• The American version Country Bear Vacation Hoedown has used the song “Thank God I’m a Country Bear” as the show’s finale.
• In Stephen King‘s novel The Dead Zone, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” is played at a televised rally for rising politician and antagonist Greg Stillson.
• The song is featured in the Pauly Shore film Son in Law.
• The sketch comedy series Upright Citizens Brigade did a sketch in its second season where a group of Denver fans got together and discussed how John Denver was forced to change the song from its original lyrics, “Thank God I’m A Nutsack”. Also mentioned was a song called “Sunshine on my Nutsack”.
• Jim Nabors performed “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” when he appeared on The Muppet Show in 1976.
• Party Ben remixed a “City Boy Remix” of the song in 2006 for a guest D.J. spot where the theme was “electro meets hoedown” as a “sloppy but well-meaning tribute”.^[11]
• Featured in the stage musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical
• The single is sampled in Soulja Boy‘s song “Country Boy”.
• The song was parodied by the Capitol Steps during the Iran-Contra Scandal as “Thank God I’m A Contra Boy” featuring disgraced military official Oliver North.
• Dale Gribble and Bill Dautrieve sing the chorus of the song, with altered lyrics, in an episode of King of the Hill.

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Thank God I’m A Country Boy’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDIACB

As featured on The Essential John Denver. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/EssentialJD?IQid=JohnDIACB
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/TGICBGPlay?IQid=JohnDIACB
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EJDAmazon?IQid=JohnDIACB

More from John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads: https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://youtu.be/SneCkM0bJq0
Rocky Mountain High: https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDIACB

Follow John Denver
Website: http://johndenver.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnDenver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johndenvermusic

Subscribe to John Denver on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSub?IQid=JohnDIACB

———

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breaking, it’s early morn
The taxi’s waiting, he’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There’s so many times I let you down
So many times I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Every place I go, I’ll think of you
Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, let me kiss you
Close your eyes, I’ll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won’t have to leave alone
About the times I won’t have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go
But I’m leaving on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

“Leaving on a Jet Plane” is a song written by John Denver^[1] in 1966 and most famously recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. The original title of the song was “Babe, I Hate to Go”, as featured on his 1966 studio album John Denver Sings, but Denver’s then producer Milt Okun convinced him to change the title. Peter, Paul and Mary recorded the song for their 1967 Album 1700 but only released it as a single in 1969.^[2]

It turned out to be Peter, Paul and Mary’s biggest (and final) hit, becoming their only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The song also spent three weeks atop the easy listening chart^[3] and was used in commercials for United Airlines in the late 1970s. The song also topped the charts in Canada, and reached No. 2 in both the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart in February 1970.

In 1969, John Denver recorded a version of the song for his debut solo album, Rhymes & Reasons, and re-recorded it in 1973 for John Denver’s Greatest Hits. His version was featured in the end credits of The Guard.

Lawsuit

In the 1980s the song prompted litigation involving the British group New Order. The band’s single “Run 2” (1989) was the subject of a lawsuit brought by Denver, who argued that its wordless guitar break was based on his “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. An out-of-court settlement ensured that the song would never be re-released in its original form.^[4]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Leaving On A Jet Plane’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDLJP

As featured on The Essential John Denver. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/EssentialJD?IQid=JohnDLJP
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/JDLJPGPlay?IQid=JohnDLJP
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EJDAmazon?IQid=JohnDLJP

More from John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads: https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo
Rocky Mountain High: https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4
Sunshine On My Shoulders: https://youtu.be/diwuu_r6GJE

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDLJP

Follow John Denver
Website: http://johndenver.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnDenver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johndenvermusic

Subscribe to John Denver on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSub?IQid=JohnDLJP

———

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin’ home to a place he’d never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin’ by a song
But the string’s already broken and he doesn’t really care
It keeps changin’ fast and it don’t last for long

But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say he got crazy once, and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept his memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down
To bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high Colorado)

“Rocky Mountain High” is a folk rock song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor about Colorado, and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado.^[1] Recorded by Denver in 1972, it went to #9 on the US Hot 100 in 1973. (The song also made #3 on the Easy Listening chart and was played by some country music stations.) Denver told concert audiences in the mid-1970s that the song took him an unusually long nine months to write. On April 10, 2017, the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 digital downloads.

Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.^[2]

Background and writing

“Rocky Mountain High” is primarily inspired by John Denver’s move to Aspen, Colorado three years before its writing and his love for the state. The seventh stanza makes a reference to destruction of the mountains’ beauty by commercial tourism. The song was considered a major piece of 1970s pop culture and became a well-associated piece of Colorado history.

The song briefly became controversial that year when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission was permitted by a legal ruling to censor music deemed to promote drug abuse. Numerous radio stations cautiously banned the song until Denver publicly explained that the “high” was his innocent description of the sense of peace he found in the Rockies. In 1985, Denver testified before Congress in the Parents Music Resource Center hearings about his experience:

This was obviously done by people who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains, and also had never experienced the elation, celebration of life or the joy in living that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Perseid meteor shower on a moonless, cloudless night, when there are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you are out camping with your friends, your best friends, and introducing them to one of nature’s most spectacular light shows for the first time.^[3]

In popular culture

In 2005, the song was performed by a soloist at the NBA all-star game in Denver. After years as an unofficial anthem for Colorado, on March 12, 2007, the Colorado General Assembly made “Rocky Mountain High” one of two official state songs, sharing the honor with “Where the Columbines Grow“.^[1] The song was also used in an advertisement for Colorado-based Coors beer.

In late 2007, the John Denver Sanctuary drew some controversy after the last lines of the song were removed from the “Rocky Mountain High” stone.^[4]

The song was used as a warning for death in the 2000 film Final Destination, which revolves around the aftermath of an aviation accident, referencing Denver’s death in a plane crash. The song appears numerous times throughout the film as a motif for foreshadowing death.

The song is mentioned in passing in the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber. After driving for several hours in the wrong direction, the two Aspen-bound main characters mistake a desert for the Rockies, mentioning that they “expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this…” adding “that John Denver’s full of shit, man”.

Snowmass ski resort, near Aspen, named a run “Rocky Mountain High” in honor of John Denver.

In the television show “Coach” the character Christine Armstrong admitted that she spent a year as a John Denver groupie—though she won’t give his name, she says she was his “Rocky Mountain High”; none of the other characters understood to whom she was referring with the song title.

Chart performance

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Rocky Mountain High’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDRMH

As featured on The Essential John Denver. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/EssentialJD?IQid=JohnDRMH
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/RMHGPlay?IQid=JohnDRMH
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/EJDAmazon?IQid=JohnDRMH

More from John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads: https://youtu.be/1vrEljMfXYo
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://youtu.be/SneCkM0bJq0
Sunshine On My Shoulders: https://youtu.be/diwuu_r6GJE

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDRMH

Follow John Denver
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Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue ridge mountain, Shenandoah river
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mamma
Take me home, country roads

All my memories, gather round her
Miners’ lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mamma
Take me home, to the country roads

I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me
Radio reminds me of my home far away
Driving down the road I get a feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mamma
Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mamma
Take me home, to the country roads

Take me home, that country road
Take me home, that country road

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver.

The song was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971, and Platinum on April 10, 2017.^[2] The song became one of John Denver’s most popular and beloved songs and is still very popular around the world. It has continued to sell, with over a million digital copies sold in the United States.^[3] It is considered to be Denver’s signature song.^[4]

The song also has a prominent status as an iconic symbol of West Virginia, which it describes as “almost Heaven”; for example, it was played at the funeral memorial for U.S. Senator Robert Byrd in July 2010.^[5] In March 2014, it became one of several official state anthems of West Virginia.

Background

Composition

Danoff and his then-wife, Mary (“Taffy”) Nivert, wrote “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” both of which were hits for John Denver. Danoff (from Springfield, Massachusetts) has stated he had never been to West Virginia before co-writing the song.^[6] Inspiration for the song had come while driving to a family reunion of Nivert’s relatives along Clopper Road^[7] in nearby Maryland. To pass the time en route, Danoff had made up a ballad about the little winding roads they were taking. He had even briefly considered using “Massachusetts” rather than “West Virginia,” as both four-syllable state names would have fit the song’s meter.

Starting December 22, 1970, John Denver was heading the bill at The Cellar Door, a Washington, D.C. club. Danoff and Nivert opened for him as a duo named Fat City. After the Tuesday post-Christmas re-opening night (Cellar Door engagements ran from Tuesday to Sunday, and this booking was for two weeks,) the three headed back to their place for an impromptu jam. On the way, Denver’s left thumb was broken in an automobile accident. He was taken to the hospital, where a splint was applied. By the time they got back to the house, he was, in his own words, “wired, you know.”

Danoff and Nivert then told him about the song that they had been working on for about a month. Originally, Danoff and Nivert had planned to sell the song to popular country singer Johnny Cash, but when Denver heard the song and decided he had to have it, the duo who wrote the original lyrics decided not to make the sale.

They sang the song for Denver and as he recalled, “I flipped.” The three stayed up until 6:00 a.m., changing words and moving lines around. When they finished, John announced that the song had to go on his next album.^[8]

The song was premiered December 30, 1970, during an encore of Denver’s set, with the singers reading the words from a folded piece of paper. This resulted in a five-minute ovation, one of the longest in Cellar Door history.^[9] They recorded it in New York City in January 1971.

Commercial performance

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” appeared on the LP Poems, Prayers & Promises and was released as a 45 in the spring of 1971. Original pressings credited the single to “John Denver with Fat City”. It broke nationally in mid-April but moved up the charts very slowly. After several weeks, RCA Records called John and told him that they were giving up on the single. His response: “No! Keep working on it!” They did, and the single went to number 1 on the Record World Pop Singles Chart and the Cash Box Top 100, and number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, topped only by “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” by The Bee Gees.

On August 18, 1971, it was certified Gold by the RIAA for a million copies shipped.^[10] The song continued to sell in the digital era. As of September 2017, the song has also sold an additional 1,584,000 downloads since it became available digitally.^[11]

Reception in West Virginia

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” received an enthusiastic response from West Virginians. The song is the theme song of West Virginia University and has been performed at every home football pre-game show since 1972. In 1977 Denver played for Morgantown High School and even changed the wording to “Appalachian Mountains, Monongahela River”.^{[citation needed]} In 1980, Denver performed the song during pregame festivities to a sold-out crowd of Mountaineer fans. This performance marked the dedication of the current Mountaineer Field and the first game for then head coach Don Nehlen. The song is played for other athletic events and university functions, including after football games, for which the fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing the song along with the team.^[12]

The popularity of the song has inspired resolutions in the West Virginia Legislature to adopt “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as an official state song. On March 7, 2014, the West Virginia Legislature approved a resolution to make “Take Me Home, Country Roads” an official state song of West Virginia, alongside three other pieces: “West Virginia Hills”, “This is My West Virginia”, and “West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home”.^[13] Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the resolution into law on March 8.^[14]

The land features mentioned prominently in the song lyrics – the Shenandoah River and the Blue Ridge Mountains – have only marginal associations with the state of West Virginia, and would seem to be more appropriate to describe western Virginia. The river passes through only the very eastern tip of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in Jefferson County. Similarly, the vast majority of the Blue Ridge also lies outside the state, only crossing into West Virginia in Jefferson County. According to a radio interview with Nivert, the road is close to her native Washington, D.C., in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, where Denver often visited. That road – Clopper Road – still exists today, but the landscape has changed drastically from the bucolic scenery that once surrounded it.^[15]

Thomas, West Virginia-based brewery Mountain State Brewing Company produces an amber ale called “Almost Heaven,” which it says is “named after John Denver’s ode to West Virginia, Country Roads.”^[16]

The song was played at the funeral memorial for Senator Robert Byrd at the state capitol in Charleston on July 2, 2010.^[5]

Personnel

• John Denver – vocals
• Bill Danoff – 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, vocals
• Taffy Nivert – backing vocals
• Eric Weissberg – banjo, steel guitars
• Mike Taylor – acoustic guitar
• Richard Kniss – double bass
• Gary Chester – drums, percussion

Chart performance

Hermes House Band version

In 2001, the song was covered by Dutch pop band Hermes House Band and released as “Country Roads“. The band performed the song live on Top of the Pops.

Track listing

• Dutch CD single

1. “Country Roads” (original radio edit) – 3:22
2. “Country Roads” (happy dance version) – 3:20

Charts

Other versions

• Eddy Arnold recorded it for his 1971 album, Loving Her Was Easier.
• Lynn Anderson recorded a cover for her 1971 album How Can I Unlove You.
• Loretta Lynn recorded it for her 1971 album You’re Lookin’ At Country.
• Skeeter Davis recorded it for her 1971 album Bring it on Home.
• Ray Charles cut a cover of the song for his 1972 album A Message from the People.
• The Statler Brothers recorded a cover version on their 1972 album “Innerview”.
• Olivia Newton-John recorded a cover version in 1973 that reached the top 10 in Japan and the number 15 in the UK, but only reached No. 119 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100.
• In 1974, Lena Zavaroni recorded a cover of “Country Roads” for her album Ma! (He’s Making Eyes At Me)
• Toots & the Maytals recorded a reggae version in 1974 in which the lyrics are altered to describe Jamaica: “Almost heaven, West Jamaica,” for instance, replaces Denver’s “West Virginia.” This version was itself covered in Almost Heaven,^[31] a 2005 German film directed by Ed Herzog. In the story, Helen Shuster is a German girl with a terminal illness who dreams to be a country singer Nashville style and winds up in Jamaica. The song is sung by Heike Makatsch, who plays Helen.^[32]
• In 1975 Czechoslovakian singer Pavel Bobek covered the song.
• In 1975 Aleksander Mežek covered Denver’s single, changing lyrics into Slovene language, his home language, and named the song “Siva pot”, which means “grey road”. The song is still very popular in Slovenia.
• Israel Kamakawiwoʻole recorded a version for his 1993 album Facing Future in which West Mākaha, Hawaii is substituted for West Virginia.
• In 1976, Dick Rivers (ex-lead singer of “Les Chats Sauvages“), recorded and released a French version titled “Faire Un Pont”.
• Romanian singer Gil Dobrică covered the song 1977 with a Romanian text “Hai acasă, hai cu mine” (“Let’s go home, come with me”).
• Country pop vocalist Carrie Underwood performed the song during her Play On Tour in 2010. Underwood performed the song in the bed of a pick-up truck over the audience.
• In 1994, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Chip ‘n’ Dale, Huey, Dewey & Louie and the Fun Songs Kids sit around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and covering the song in Mickey’s Fun Songs: Campout at Walt Disney World.
• In 1995, Yuji Nomi, a Japanese composer, adapted the song to the Studio Ghibli movie Whisper of the Heart by changing the lyrics in a humorous and ecology-aware way.
• In 2008 Punk rock cover band, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, covered it for their album Have Another Ball.
• Country music artist Daryle Singletary covered the song on his 2009 album Rockin’ in the Country.
• In 2009 Roch Voisine covered it for the album AmerIIcana.
• In 2010 Swedish singer Meja covered the Studio Ghibli version of the song on her album AniMeja.
• In 2012, The Gypsy Queens released “Take Me Home Country Roads” on their eponymous album, The Gypsy Queens.
• In 2012 singer/songwriter Mike Doughty released a cover on his album The Flip Is Another Honey.
• In 2013, American folk singers Brandi Carlile and Emmylou Harris recorded the song for the John Denver tribute album This Music is You: A Tribute to John Denver.
• In 2013, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out perform “Take Me Home Country Roads” in the Washington, DC studios of WAMU’s Bluegrass Country.
• In 2015, American country singer Kerry Degman recorded a cover on his album Red Light.
• The 2016 single “Forever Country” includes the song in a medley with “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton and “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson.^[33]

In popular culture

• Bradford City A.F.C., an English football club, has a variation for their stadium Valley Parade, with West Virginia being replaced with Midland Road.^[34]
• South Sydney Rabbitohs, an Australian rugby league Club, have a variation with Country Road being replaced with Botany Road.^[35]
• Manchester United F.C., an English football club, have a variation with Country Road being replaced with United Road, the road that leads to Old Trafford.
• Vegalta Sendai, a Japanese football club, sings the song as its theme before home games. While during the game altered lyrics are sung to the tunes of “The Lambrusco Kid” by the Toy Dolls, Blitzkrieg Bop, and other songs by KISS and Twisted Sister.^[36]
• Swinton rugby league club, an English rugby league club, have their own version relating to the club’s one time home stadium, Station Road (1929-1992): “take me home Station Road”.
• Wests Rugby, the successful Australian rugby club have their own version.
• The film Whisper of the Heart mentions this song: the protagonist, Shizuku, translates and adapts the song for Japanese language before singing it at the end of the movie, accompanied by a luthier who plays violin and other characters.
• Steve and the Mexican immigrants sing the song at the end of the season 3 American Dad! episode “American Dream Factory”.
• Dwight and Andy sing the song to try and win Erin’s affection in Season 5 of The Office, in the episode “Michael Scott Paper Company.”
• The 2017 film Alien: Covenant uses this song in its trailer material, and features as a small, but significant plot point in the film.
• The 2017 film Logan Lucky uses the song and discusses Bill and Taffy writing the song.
• The 2017 film Kingsman: The Golden Circle uses the song throughout the film, most notably Merlin singing it near the film’s climax.

John Denver’s official audio for ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’. Click to listen to John Denver on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JohnDenverSpotify?IQid=JohnDTMH

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More from John Denver
Sunshine On My Shoulders: https://youtu.be/diwuu_r6GJE
Leaving On A Jet Plane: https://youtu.be/SneCkM0bJq0
Rocky Mountain High: https://youtu.be/eOB4VdlkzO4

More great 70s videos here: http://smarturl.it/Ultimate70?IQid=JohnDTMH

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