“Take Me Home, Country Roads” was written by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (performing as the duo Fat City), with significant contributions from John Denver, who recorded the song as a solo artist. Although the song is the unofficial anthem of West Virginia, none of the writers had ever visited the state; the lyrics were inspired by Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Danoff and Nivert were driving during a family reunion in late 1970.
Composition and Writing
- Danoff and Nivert originally wrote the song intending to sell it to Johnny Cash, but they played it for Denver during an impromptu jam session at their Washington, D.C., apartment.
- Denver, who had broken his thumb in a car accident, helped refine the lyrics and melody, working with the couple until 6:00 a.m. between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
- The choice of West Virginia over Massachusetts (Danoff’s home state) was made because “West Virginia” fit the song’s rhythm and vibe better, despite the writers’ lack of familiarity with the region.
Release and Legacy
- The song was first performed publicly at the Cellar Door nightclub in Georgetown, D.C., on December 30, 1970, where it received a five-minute standing ovation.
- It was released as a single on April 12, 1971, becoming Denver’s first number-one hit and launching his international career.
- The track was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2023 and became an official state song of West Virginia in 2014.
[Verse 1]
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
[Chorus]
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
[Verse 2]
All my memories 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
[Chorus]
Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads
[Bridge]
I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
Driving down the road, I get a feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday
[Chorus]
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
[Outro]
Take me home, (Down) country roads
Take me home, (Down) country roads
