While purchasing a personalized rock on Etsy, John Denver earrings were suggested to me. I love them, but I have too much hair. But what about a shirt? Or a mug or a hat? I love John Denver*. So I pulled out my old JD Greatest Hits album, grabbed a tissue box and started listening….and shopping.
Leaving on a Jet Plane (1966) Abandonment, plain and simple. There’s a leaver and a leftee. Loss. Uncertainty. Don’t know when I’ll be back again. JD actually wrote the song and it was on his demo recording in 1966. He also made copies and gave it out as Christmas gifts that year (Oh, joy). His friends, Peter, Paul & Mary hit #1 with their recording of the song, but I prefer his. Also, he did leave on a plane and never came back. Sadness.
Annie’s Song (1974) This song kills me. When i even here the opening notes I have to leave any public space I might be in. In 1979 we moved to Colorado, bought a Chevy Econoline van–tan with brown and rust stripes, swivel seats and an 8-track cassette deck. John Denver was the first cassette we bought (followed by Elvis & the Beach Boys). As a kid I wondered, would I ever fill up anyone’s senses, like a night in a forest? And what did that even mean? And why did I feel so sad? And why did my mom have to sing this song at the top of her lungs? Looking back, was my mom subconsciously crying out for my dad to love her like JD loved Annie? Huh. The song was written on a ski lift in Aspen for JD’s wife Annie (ya…awwww), but when I found out much later that they divorced (1982) and he always had a string of women on the road, the song was ruined for me. He was too, for awhile.
Sunshine on My Shoulders (1971) I can’t with this song. Associations are strong when you’re emotional. I’ll never forget being very young and watching the movie Sunshine, a 70s depressing AF movie based on a true story about a young mom who lives in the woods with her husband and young daughter. The mom is dying of cancer and decides to make a video journal so her daughter will have lasting memories. Ugh. No one should allow their young child to watch this–as you can see in the trailer if you follow the link, but you know…70s. I was probably alone in the black beanbag eating Apple Jacks. Also, Country Roads is featured in this trailer as well–a song I am not going to write about because school kids still sing it in chorus. Boring. Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (2000). Chad Lowe is John Denver and Kristin Davis is Annie and the movie is cheesy and apparently inaccurate. But you should watch it anyway if you are into JD. Anyway, this song plays at the final scene when JD takes off in his glider plane and is flying above the clouds until the credits roll and announce his death in a plane crash on 10-12-97. People who are not me seem to enjoy this song.
Calypso (1975) Ship bells a-clankin’ and sea yodeling! Sailing, salt water, wind! Elation! A tribute to Jacques Cousteau and his ship, the Calypso, all in support of ocean conservation. The video has jumping dolphins – do not miss. Also on the B side of I’m Sorry.
This Old Guitar (1974) Best love song to a non-person, sung with sweetness and sincerity; an ode to his beloved guitar given to JD by his grandmother at age 12. It reminds me of the little, important things that I need to appreciate instead of reacting to every little non-important thing that pops up. Fun Fact: The guitar was cremated along with him and the ashes spread over the Rocky Mountains. Aw.
The Eagle & The Hawk (1971) Written for a tv doc by the same name. Never saw it. Can’t find it. Short song, big dramatic build up, more yodeling…powerful. The freedom to fly, to see beyond ourselves. It will make you want to quit your job tomorrow. Maybe today. There are no songs like this. It’s like a mountain holler – can’t describe it but this guy tried and got 1M views. It’s like – there’s so much more than you, your dumb job, your house, your worries. Stop living small – run into the field with abandon, take off your tie, and realize who the F you are. Who are you? Holler.
Rocky Mountain High (1972) Obviously. This was it- I think this was why my family moved to Colorado in the late 70s – this song. The parents took a trip, went up to the mountains, saw Vail, Aspen (in 1978 – before ALL THE PEOPLE – can you imagine- JD would roll in his grave now, crash his plane on purpose). Always reminds me of driving the van around Colorado that first year when we were discovering the state. Family intact. But this song never stopped playing. My friends and I in college would drive up to the mountains from Boulder singing it at the top of our lungs and later when I lived across the Pacific in Maui then Fiji I played it at special times when I was homesick. I still go Colorado at least once a year and there’s nothing better than driving in the mountains and that song comes on the radio– the volume goes up and everyone in the car stops talking and starts singing.
I’m Sorry (1975) Get a box of tissues. Remorse. I’m sorry for all the lies I told you. I’m sorry for the things I didn’t say. I’m sorry if I took some things for granted. More than anything else, I’m sorry for myself for living without you. Also his final #1 hit. Just say you’re sorry.
Rhymes & Reasons (1974)
So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end…
Like a Sad Song (1976) Sometimes I feel like a sad song. Like I’m all alone…without you.
Looking For Space (1976) Also called Flyaway by listeners. This song resonates with so many (according to The Internet). You think you’re the only weirdo with a 70s emotional John Denver issue, but with a few keywords you find a slew of folks with the same kind of childhood memories connected to JD songs. I’m not one to comment, but I enjoy reading them. I just learned that someone wants this song played at their funeral, that Olivia Newton-John also recorded this song in 1976 but it wasn’t released until 2010, and that the song was featured on Magnum, P.I. in 1987, Season 7. Weird. Will have to check that one out.
* I love round-glasses John Denver, not Hollywood John Denver. Like I love young Elvis, not Vegas Elvis.
