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But, when Denver found out about the track, he offered to help them finish it and decided to include it on one of their records. The lyrics for "Country Roads" were written by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who were reportedly inspired by their drive along Interstate 81, which runs primarily through western Virginia. According to an interview with WVU Sports, when he was coming up with the song, Danoff had never really been to West Virginia either. In fact, Danoff reportedly originally wanted to write the song about his home state Massachusetts, but couldn't get the cadence to work. When he, Nivert, and Denver sat down to work on the song, West Virginia, or perhaps west Virginia, simply worked best and a hit was made.
Country roads sing take me home To the place I belong West Virginia. Web almost heaven west virginia blue ridge mountains shenandoah river life is old there older than the trees younger than the mountains blowing like a breeze country roads take. Released as an iTunes-only single on July 4, 2018, the song reached No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart. It debuted at No. 41 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart that week and at No. 21 on Billboard's Country Digital Songs the following week. The official YouTube upload of the original John Denver recording, initially uploaded in 2013, would later edit its description in response to the song's use for the game.
Music, Songs & Lyrics
The trio stayed up until six in the morning, rewriting and rearranging the song until they created a masterpiece. Dutch pop band Hermes House Band covered the song and released it as "Country Roads". This version was first released in Germany on May 21, 2001, and was issued in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2001, where it was a contender for the 2001 Christmas number-one single. This version was a chart success in Europe, reaching number one in Scotland, number two in Germany and Ireland, and the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.
The song is the theme song of West Virginia University and it has been performed during every home football pregame show since 1972. 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. On September 6, 1980, at the invitation of West Virginia Governor Jay Rockefeller, songwriters Danoff, Nivert, and Denver performed the song during pregame festivities to a sold-out crowd of Mountaineer fans.
Take Me Home, Country Roads
C feeling That I. Web Country roads take me home to the place I belong West Virginia mountain mamma take me home country roads. Dark and dusty painted on the sky D C G Misty taste of moonshine tear drop in my eye. At the time, Danoff and Nivert were both struggling musicians, but they aimed to be successful in the industry by writing a hit song for more prominent artists. Until one day they opened for Denver at a club called Cellar Door in Georgetown, Washington, DC After the show, the couple hung out with Denver. They played “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in Denver, and he absolutely loved it.
This performance marked the dedication of the current West Virginia University Mountaineer Field and the first game for head coach Don Nehlen. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” has been a hit almost from the start. It peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s US Hot 100 singles after its release on April 12, 1971. By August 1971, the song had already been certified gold for shipping over a million copies. Of course, the beauty and pride expressed in the classic song was an instant hit in West Virginia as well.
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John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert performing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" at the opening of West Virginia University's Mountaineer Field September 6, 1980. This audio recording includes the introduction by John Denver followed by the full song as recorded by WVAQ with Jack Fleming announcing. The song found further chart success as part of the Forever Country medley and video, created in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association Awards. The song was played at the funeral for West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd at the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on July 2, 2010.
The song is also performed in other sporting events and college functions, as well as after football matches. Fans are then encouraged to stay in the stands to sing the song along with the team. It was in late 1970, when Billy Danoff and Taffy Nivert were on their way to a family reunion along Clopper Road in neighboring Montgomery County, Maryland. To pass the time, the couple composed a song about the winding roads of the country. The only problem was that the three Maryland syllables didn’t match the rhythm of the song. Danoff then figured four syllable Massachusetts might work, but then West Virginia would sound even better.
How “Country Roads,” a song about Maryland, became the highlight of an NFL game in Germany
For its part, West Virginia isn't particularly bothered by the potential discrepancies in scenic landmarks. They made the song one of its four official state anthems in 2014 and West Virginia University's marching band plays the song when their teams win. The verses and chorus were still missing a bridge, so the three of them went about finishing.
John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was released as a single almost fifty years ago today. The song was taken from her 1971 album “Poems, Prayers & Promises”. Songwriters Bill Danoff and his wife, Taffy Nivert, began writing the song for Johnny Cash.
Denver told the couple he loved the song — he, Danoff and Nivert completed the lyrics and arrangement overnight. On Dec. 29, 1970, John Denver played the first night of a string of solo shows at the Cellar Door — Danoff and Nivert were the opening act. Later that evening, in the couple’s Georgetown home, Denver asked if they had any new songs they wanted him to hear. “Take me home, Clopper Road” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the Gaithersburg, Maryland, road was the inspiration behind the song that gave John Denver his first platinum single. RegionCertificationCertified units/salesDenmark Gold45,000Italy Gold25,000United Kingdom Platinum600,000United States Platinum1,591,000 Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Web Take me home country roads All my memries gather round her Miners lady stranger to blue water Dark and dusty painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine teardrop in my. When they finished, on the morning of Wednesday, December 30, 1970, Denver announced that the song had to go on his next album. According to Len Jaffe, a Washington, D.C.-based singer-songwriter who attended the show where Denver premiered the song, this resulted in a five-minute standing ovation. Web Take me home country roads All my memories they gather round her Miners lady stranger to blue water Dark and dusty painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine.
All my memories gathered round her Miners lady stranger to blue water Dark and dusty painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine Teardrops in. Web Take me home country roads All my memories gathered round her Miners Lady stranger to. Audio"Take Me Home, Country Roads" on YouTube"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two on Billboard' s US Hot 100 singles for the week ending August 28, 1971.
