A song about a longing for home, John Denver’s first hit in 1971 has been embraced by West Virginia in a big way, and has been appropriated by singers around the world looking for their very own «place I belong.»
The first line of John Denver’s song «Take Me Home, Country Roads» calls West Virginia «Almost Heaven,» and when you’re up in the mountains, that description can feel pretty accurate. Almost Heaven, West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River Life is old there, older than the trees Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads But these winding country roads were immortalized by someone who had never driven them. Correspondent Conor Knighton asked, «Had you ever been to West Virginia before you wrote the song?» «No,» said Bill Danoff. «Well, in my dreams!» Danoff, along with his then-girlfriend and bandmate Taffy Nivert, played a rough draft of «Country Roads» for their pal John Denver after a gig one night in Washington, D.C. «John’s biggest contribution to anything at that point was just his enthusiasm: ‘Well, let’s finish it!'» Danoff laughed. «You know, at 1:00 in the morning,1:30, you know? ‘Let’s get it!'» The three stayed up late collaborating on the version that hit the airwaves 50 years ago. Danoff said, «When it came out in ’71, you know, the Vietnam War was really rockin’. And we had, oh, hundreds of thousands of troops over there. So, coming home was a big, big deal.» It was a song about home, just not Danoff’s home. Knighton asked, «You’re from Massachusetts. Could it just as easily have been, ‘Almost heaven, Massachusetts’?» «Yeah, except I didn’t like that word!» Danoff replied. «West Virginia» sounded good.
