John Denver

John Denver, pseudonimo di Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (Roswell, 31 dicembre 1943 - Monterey, 12 ottobre 1997), è stato un cantautore e musicista statunitense del genere folk rock. Tra i più noti artisti degli anni Settanta, nel corso della sua carriera ha registrato e realizzato 289 canzoni, delle quali centoquaranta scritte da lui stesso.Canzoni come Take Me Home, Country Roads, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Thank God I'm A Country Boy, Annie's Song, The Bells of Rhymney e Rocky Mountain High sono entrate a far parte degli standard musicali.

Suo padre, Henry Deutschendorf, Sr., era un ufficiale dell'aeronautica americana ed istruttore di volo di origine tedesca. Durante la sua infanzia si spostò spesso negli Stati Uniti, dal Sud-Ovest al Sud. Da adolescente, ricevette da sua nonna una chitarra acustica Gibson1910, e dimostrò presto la sua abilità cominciando a suonare nei clubs quando frequentava il college. In seguito adottò il cognome "Denver" in omaggio alla sua città preferita.
Uscito dalla Texas Tech University nel 1964, si spostò a Los Angeles in California e si unì al Chad Mitchell Trio, un gruppo folk music. Lasciò il gruppo, allora conosciuto come Denver, Boise e Johnson, nel 1969 per perseguire la carriera da solista, e realizzò il suo primo LP, Rhymes and Reasons. L'album non ebbe particolare successo, ma conteneva, "Leaving, on a Jet Plane", che divenne un numero 1 portato al successo da "Peter, Paul and Mary" due anni dopo. Registrò altri due album nel 1970: "Whose Garden Was This?" e "Take Me to Tomorrow".
Nel 1971 l'album Poems, Prayers and Promises ne decretò il successo su scala nazionale. L'album conteneva infatti la canzone Take Me Home, Country Roads, che ascese al secondo posto nella Billboard charts. Il successo venne confermato dall'album successivo, Rocky Mountain Hight. Per tutti gli anni Settanta Denver sfornò una serie di album fortunatissimi, conditi da una serie di partecipazioni televisive (registrò addirittura un album insieme ai Muppets).
Nel 1977 lo stato del Colorado lo insignì anche del titolo di poeta laureato.
Negli anni Ottanta e Novanta, pur senza raggiungere le vendite del decennio precedente, la popolarità di Denver rimase molto alta in tutti gli Stati Uniti. Parallelamente alla carriera musicale, Denver portò avanti una serie di campagne ambientaliste e umanitarie.
Accanto alla musica, John Denver coltivava una grande passione per il volo. Pilota esperto, possedeva vari aerei. Il 12 ottobre 1997 precipitò mentre era ai comandi del suo Rutan Long-EZ. Esistono molte versioni riguardanti la dinamica dell'incidente, ma nessuna di esse è mai stata confermata.

Country Roads



Testo:

Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains growin' like a breeze.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads.

All my mem'ries gather 'round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads.

I hear her voice in the mornin' hours, she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin' down the road I get a feelin'
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
Take me home (down) country roads
Take me home (down) country roads.

Leaving on a Jet Plain



Testo:

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.
But the dawn is breaking it's early morning
The taxi is waiting, he is blowing his horn
Already I'm so lonesome, I could cry

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you wait for meHold me like you never let me go
I'm leaving on a jetplane,I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe I hate to go

There is so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now they don't mean a thing.
Every place I go I think of you
Every song I sing I sing for you.
When I come back I wear your wedding-ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you wait for meHold me like you never let me go
I'm leaving on a jetplane,I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Close your eyes, and I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to comeI wont have to leave alone, and I wont have to say:

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you wait for meHold me like you never let me go
I'm leaving on a jetplane,I don't know when I'll be back again.
I'm leaving on a jetplane,I don't know when I'll be back again.
I'm leaving on a jetplane,I don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh babe I hate to go.

Annie's song



Testo:

You fill up my senses
Like a night in the forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

Let me give my life to you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

You fill up my senses
Like a night in the forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Rocky mountain hight



Testo:

He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh year
Comin' home to a place he'd never been before
He left yesterday behind him you might say he was born again
You might say he'd found a key to every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin' by a song
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long

CHORUS
The Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept the memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

CHORUS
But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
Talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

CHORUS
And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
You know he'd be a poorer man if he'd never saw an eagle fly
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
The Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
Friends around the campfire and everybody's high
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)