"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by

Bill Danoff William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for " Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including " ...

Taffy Nivert Mary Catherine "Taffy" Nivert (born October 25, 1944) is an American songwriter and singer. She is best known for co-writing "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which was popularized by John Denver, and for being a member of the Starland Vocal Band. ...

and

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

. 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. The song was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971, and Platinum on April 10, 2017. The song became one of John Denver's most popular songs. It has continued to sell, with over 1.8 million digital copies sold in the United States. Country Roads is played over P.A. systems and sung along to all over the world in sports stadiums, as a theme song before and after games. The song is considered a symbol of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. In March 2014, it became one of the four official state anthems of West Virginia. In 1998, the 1971 recording by John Denver was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. In 2023, the song was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

for inclusion in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

Composition

Inspiration for the title line had come while Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoff, who were married, were driving along Clopper Road in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, to a gathering of Nivert's family in

Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

, with Nivert behind the wheel while Danoff played his guitar. "I just started thinking, country roads, I started thinking of me growing up in western

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and going on all these small roads", Danoff said. "It didn't have anything to do with Maryland or anyplace." To Danoff, the lyric " e radio reminds me of my home far away" in the bridge is quintessentially West Virginian, an allusion to when he listened to the program '' Saturday Night Jamboree'', broadcast from

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, on WWVA at his home in Springfield, Massachusetts, during his childhood in the 1950s. Danoff was influenced by friend and West Virginian actor

Chris Sarandon Christopher Sarandon (; born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He is well known for playing Jerry Dandrige in '' Fright Night'' (1985), Prince Humperdinck in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Detective Mike Norris in '' Child's Play'' (1988), a ...

and members of a West Virginia commune who attended Danoff's performances. Of the commune members, Danoff remarked, "They brought their dogs and were a very colorful group of folks, but that is how West Virginia began creeping into the song." While the song was inspired by Danoff's upbringing in Springfield, Massachusetts, he "didn't want to write about Massachusetts because edidn't think the word was musical." Starting December 22, 1970, Denver was heading the New Year's bill at

The Cellar Door The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1963 through January 7, 1982. It occupied the location of a former music club called The Shadows. The Shadows, first ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with Fat City opening for him, just as Denver had opened at the same club for then-headliner

David Steinberg David Steinberg (born August 9, 1942) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and mid-1970s, he was one of the best-known comics in the United States. He appeared on ...

. After the club's post-Christmas reopening night on Tuesday, December 29 (Cellar Door engagements ran from Tuesday to Sunday, and this booking was for two weeks), the three returned to the couple's apartment for an impromptu jam. On the way, Denver's left thumb was broken in a collision. He was rushed to the emergency room, where the thumb was splinted. When they returned to the apartment, Denver said he was "wired, you know." When Danoff and Nivert ran through what they had of the song they had been working on for about a month, planning to sell to

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

, Denver decided he had to have it, which prompted them to abandon plans for the sale. The verses and chorus were still missing a bridge, so the three of them went about finishing. Nivert got out an encyclopedia to learn more about West Virginia. The first thing she encountered was the

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

, the state flower, so she kept trying to work the word Rhododendron into the song. ''Rhododendron'' was the title that Nivert had written down on the lyric sheet, which they later sent to

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

. The three stayed up until 6:00 a.m., changing words and moving lines around. When they finished, on the morning of Wednesday, December 30, 1970, Denver announced that the song had to go on his next album. Later that night, during Denver's first set, Denver called his two collaborators back to the spotlight, where the trio changed their career trajectories, reading the lyrics from a single, handheld, unfolded piece of paper. 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. The next day was Denver's 28th birthday. They recorded it in New York City in January 1971. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is written in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

Commercial performance and legacy

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" appeared on the LP ''

Poems, Prayers & Promises ''Poems, Prayers & Promises'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver, released on April 6, 1971 by RCA Records. The album was recorded in New York City, and produced by Milton Okun and Susan Ruskin. ''Poems, Prayer ...

'' and was released as a 45 in the spring of 1971. Original pressings credited the single to "John Denver with Fat City". It broke nationally in mid-April but moved up the charts very slowly. The single reached number 1 on the ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' Pop Singles Chart and the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, and number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topped only by "

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees on 28 May 1971, with B-side "Country Woman" (a Maurice Gibb composition). It was written by Barry Gibb, Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 alb ...

" by

The Bee Gees ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

. On August 18, 1971, it was certified Gold by the RIAA for a million copies shipped. The song continued to sell in the digital era. As of January 2020, the song has also sold 1,800,000 downloads since it became available digitally. Denver's recording of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was selected by the

for preservation in the

in 2023. The song has since become an anthem of the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

, a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

club, and is sung by the crowd every time Lions player Charlie Cameron kicks a goal. The song was chosen by Cameron to be played in reference to his country roots. The song was interpolated in " Lonely Road" by Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll in 2024. It reached number 33 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

chart dated 10 August 2024, giving Denver his first top 40 appearance as a songwriter since the same song's appearance in the medley "

Forever Country "Forever Country" is a 2016 mashup performed by Artists of Then, Now & Forever, a one-time gathering of 30 American country music artists. The song combines elements of three previous 1970s country hits: John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" ...

" by Artists of Then, Now & Forever peaked at number 21 in 2016.

Reception in West Virginia

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" received an enthusiastic response from West Virginians. On November 1, 2017, the West Virginia Tourism Office announced it had obtained the rights to use "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in its marketing efforts. Country Roads' has become synonymous with West Virginia all over the world", said West Virginia Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby. "It highlights everything we love about our state: scenic beauty, majestic mountains, a timeless way of life, and most of all, the warmth of a place that feels like home whether you've lived here forever or are just coming to visit." The opening phrase of the song, "Almost heaven", became a primary tourism office slogan. The song is the theme song of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, and it has been performed during every home football pregame show since 1972. The song is also played after every home victory and fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing along with the team. It is also played for other athletic events and university functions. On September 6, 1980, at the invitation of West Virginia Governor

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Vir ...

, songwriters Danoff, Nivert, and Denver performed the song during pregame festivities to a sold-out crowd of Mountaineer fans. This performance marked the dedication of the current West Virginia University

Mountaineer Field Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium is an American football stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the campus of West Virginia University. It opened in 1980 and serves as the home field for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. ...

and the first game for head coach

Don Nehlen Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is an American former college football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired in 2001 ...

. The popularity of the song inspired resolutions in the

West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI ...

to adopt "Take Me Home, Country Roads" as an official

state song A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

. On March 7, 2014, the West Virginia Legislature approved a resolution to make "Take Me Home, Country Roads" an official state song of West Virginia, alongside three other pieces: "West Virginia Hills", "This Is My West Virginia", and "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home". Governor

Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as p ...

signed the resolution into law on March 8, 2014. The song was played at the funeral for West Virginia Senator

Robert Byrd Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A Democratic Pa ...

at the

state capitol A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although m ...

in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 2, 2010.

Personnel

– vocals, 6- and 12-string acoustic guitar *

– backing vocals *

Eric Weissberg Eric Weissberg (August 16, 1939 – March 22, 2020) was an American singer, banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in moder ...

– banjo, steel guitar * Mike Taylor – acoustic guitar * Richard Kniss –

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as the Coasters, the Monkees and the Lovin' ...

– drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Hermes House Band version

Dutch pop band

Hermes House Band The Hermes House Band is a Dutch pop group, established in 1982 by members of the Rotterdamsch Studenten Corps, a fraternity/sorority in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They have released more than 25 albums and singles. History The band rose to fame ...

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.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Olivia Newton-John version

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

released a cover version in January 1973 that reached number 6 in Japan and number 15 in the UK. It was the lead single from her third studio album, ''

Let Me Be There "Let Me Be There" is a popular song written by John Rostill. It was first recorded by Olivia Newton-John and released in September 1973 as the second single from her studio album of the same name. The country-influenced song was Newton-John's fir ...

''. This version, as well as the song itself, features prominently in the Japanese animated film, ''

Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki based on Aoi Hiiragi's 1989 manga ''Mimi o Sumaseba''. Produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho, the film stars ...

''.

Charts

''Fallout 76'' version

A cover version of the song, a collaboration between Copilot Music and Sound and the vocal group Spank, was commissioned for and featured in both the teaser and full

E3 2018 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3 2018) was the 24th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...

trailers for the 2018 video game ''

Fallout 76 ''Fallout 76'' is a 2018 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is an installment in the ''Fallout'' series and a prequel to previous entries. Initially set in the year 2102, players ...

'', with its plot events set in West Virginia. 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 ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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. In Australia, a promotional ''Fallout 76''

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

featuring the cover was included with the December 2018 issue of ''STACK Magazine'' exclusively from retailer

JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. As of June 2024, the company operates 330 sto ...

Charts

Forever Country version

The song found further chart success as part of the "

" medley and video, created in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

Toots and the Maytals version

Jamaican reggae group

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

recorded a cover version for their 1974 album '' In The Dark''. The lyrics are altered slightly to refer to the group's home country of Jamaica with specific references to the island's West end.

Lana Del Rey version

American singer-songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

released a piano cover of the song on December 1, 2023.

Charts

References

External links

"Take Me Home, Country Roads"
broadcast on ''The Cher Show'', October 5, 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Take Me Home, Country Roads 1970 songs 1971 singles 2001 singles John Denver songs Hermes House Band songs Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Songs about West Virginia Songs written by Bill Danoff Songs written by John Denver West Virginia Mountaineers football Shenandoah River RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Milt Okun Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Songs about roads United States National Recording Registry recordings United States state songs Anthems of non-sovereign states Symbols of West Virginia