It is a road close to her native Washington, D.C., in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, where Denver often visited. So far, such resolutions have not carried.Īccording to a radio interview with Nivert, the road that inspired the song is nowhere near the state. 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". This has not dampened the enthusiasm that West Virginians feel for "their song". Similarly, the vast majority of the Blue Ridge also lies outside the state. The river passes through only the very eastern tip of the Eastern Panhandle of 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. It has also been played after WVU Men's Basketball victories. The song has also been sung at away games that were close enough for large numbers of students and fans to attend. It is played after the football team wins at home, upon which the fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing the song along with the team.
In fact, the song is played at virtually all athletic events and many other university functions. This performance marked the dedication of Mountaineer Field and the first game for head coach Don Nehlen. In 1980, Denver performed his hit song during pre-game festivities to a sold-out crowd of Mountaineer fans. The song is the theme song of West Virginia University and has been performed at every home football pre-game show at Mountaineer Field since 1972. His response: "No! Keep working on it!" They did, and on August 18 it was certified a million-seller. After several weeks, RCA called John and told him that they were giving up on the single. It broke nationally in mid-April, but moved up the charts very slowly. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" appeared on the LP Poems, Prayers, and Promises and was released as a 45 in the spring of 1971. They recorded it in New York City in January 1971. This resulted in a five-minute ovation, one of the longest in Cellar Door history. 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. When they finished, John announced that the song had to go on his next album. 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. Naked ladies, men who looked like Christ,Īnd a dog named Pancho, nibbling on the rice. Pink and purple, West Virginia farmhouse. On his website, Bill Danoff provides the (later discarded) second verse: The second verse of the tune was a bit risqué – referring to "naked ladies" – so the duo reckoned that their song would never get played on the radio. 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. To pass the time en route, Danoff had made up a ballad about the little winding roads they were taking. Inspiration had come while driving to a family reunion of Nivert's relatives in nearby Maryland.
By the time they got back to the house, he was, in his own words, "wired, you know".ĭanoff and Nivert then told him about a song that they had been working on for about a month. He was taken to the hospital, where a splint was applied. On the way, Denver's left thumb was broken in an automobile accident. After the post-Christmas re-opening night (the booking was for two weeks), the three headed back to their place for an impromptu jam. folk club The Cellar Door Danoff and Nivert opened for him as a duo named Fat City. Billboard Hot 100.Īfter many other hit singles, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" remains Denver's signature song.ĭenver was heading the bill in December 1970 at Washington, D.C. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers and Promises the single went to #2 on the U.S. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by John Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, and initially recorded by John Denver.
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