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Country roads, take me home All my memries, gather round her Country roads, take me home I hear her voice, in the mornin hours she calls to me Country roads, take me home |
Take Me Home, Country Roads From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by John Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, and initially recorded by John Denver. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers and Promises; the single went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. After many other hit singles, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" remains Denver's signature song.[1] Origins Denver was heading the bill in December 1970 at Washington, D.C. folk club The Cellar Door; Danoff and Nivert opened for him as a duo named Fat City. After the post-Christmas re-opening night (the 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 a song that they had been working on for about a month. Inspiration had come while driving to a family reunion of Nivert's relatives in nearby Maryland. To pass the time en route, Danoff had made up a ballad about the little winding roads they were taking. Later, he changed the story to fit that of an artist friend, who used to write to him about the splendors of the West Virginia countryside. Contrary to popular belief, there was no "risque" verse that was edited out. 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. The song was premiered December 30, 1970, during an encore of Denver's set, the singers reading the words off of a folded piece of paper. This resulted in a five-minute ovation,[citation needed] one of the longest in Cellar Door history. They recorded it in New York City in January 1971. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" appeared on the LP Poems, Prayers, and Promises and was released as a 45 in the spring of 1971. It broke nationally in mid-April, but moved up the charts very slowly. After several weeks, RCA called John and told him that they were giving up on the single. His response: "No! Keep working on it!" They did, and on August 18 it was certified a million-seller.[2] Reception in West Virginia 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 for Virginia. The river passes through only the very eastern tip of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Similarly, the vast majority of the Blue Ridge also lies outside the state. This has not dampened the enthusiasm that West Virginians feel for "their song". The popularity of the song has inspired resolutions in the West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate to change the state song of West Virginia to "Take Me Home, Country Roads". So far, such resolutions have not carried. According to a radio interview with Nivert, the road that inspired the song is nowhere near the state. It is a road close to her native Washington, D.C., in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, where Denver often visited. Clopper Road still exists today, but the landscape has changed drastically from the bucolic landscape that once surrounded it. Popularity in Asia The song (and writing alternate lyrics to it) is a plot point in the 1995 Japanese animated film Whisper of the Heart from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.[3]References References
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English Song: Take Me Home, Country Roads
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