I’m posting a song below, and I’ll bet in less than 1 minute, most of you will hear a mistake… a HUGE mistake in my opinion!
When I heard it, I was very surprised, I’m not a super picky person, but I do think this very popular singing group should have been told at some point that the lyrics were WRONG.
I checked their official music video on YouTube. Home Free has almost 2 million followers and their video “Take Me Home” has more than 6 million views. Couldn’t someone have told them? Couldn’t someone have Googled the lyrics before filming? I scanned the comments under the YouTube video to see if anyone called them out. There were LOTS of comments from people who live in West Virginia or had lived there at one time – there were also LOTS of comments from people saying how proud John Denver would be if he’d heard their version, and LOTS of people saying that they were big John Denver fans and this was their favorite song.
I didn’t have time to read ALL of the comments, but I sure expected to see something. We all know how happy ‘internet trolls’ are to point out things that are wrong and make people mad….but there was nothing…….. NOTHING! Are you kidding me? This is the state song of West Virginia and nobody said anything? Are we all going to learn the wrong lyrics and assume that West Virginia ‘blows’? Well, with 6 million views and more views coming, the lyrics might be eventually be changed permanently in the minds of people all over the earth who sing this song in the car, in bars, in stadiums or around a campfire.
I’ve heard this mistake before, and I considered it a “Rookie” mistake. The wrong words are easier for people to sing (the phrase “blowing like a breeze” is more natural than “growing like a breeze”) so it kind of made me feel like I was part of a secret John Denver fan club, knowing and singing the correct lyrics.
I wonder how this makes Bill Danoff feel? Bill and Taffy Danoff co-wrote this song with John Denver, and it was a HUGE success for them, but does it irritate them to hear their words changed?
One more small correction. If you continued listening to the entire song you might have also caught this: for some reason, Home Free sang ‘modest lady’ instead of ‘miner’s lady’. Weird. I wondered about that too, and I did see a couple of comments about that change.
What do you think? Am I being too picky? Should Home Free check the lyrics before making an official video? Is West Virginia ‘Blowin’ or ‘Growin’? Please write your comments in the box below!
John Denver died on October 12, 1997. Almost 30 years later, one of his hit songs re-appears on 2 Billboard charts that didn’t exist during his lifetime.
The song is “Take Me Home Country Roads,” written by Bill and Taffy Danoff (Fat City) and John Denver. If ever a song stood the test of time, this one has and will continue to stand, and it will be “growing like a breeze” for generations to come.
The event that propelled the song back to the Billboard charts was February’s 2025 Superbowl game, with the innovative idea to make a television commercial interactive with a live audience by inviting everyone to sing along – joining the fans and players of opposing teams in a few moments of blissful unity.
Of all the wonderful John Denver songs we are privileged to perform, the very first notes of “Country Roads” brings the most excitement and happy reactions during our tribute shows. Heck – in West Virginia, we are required to sing it twice, once at the beginning of the show and again at the end…lol, it’s how they do it in West Virginia!
In my years of performing. I’ve heard a lot of stories about how this song has brought back many memories of home and family.
Please, take a moment and share in the comment section what Take Me Home Country Roads means to you:
I don’t believe there is or has been any group that cares about the earth MORE than John Denver Fans!! Now, I don’t want to start any arguments (lol) but in my opinion, the number of people inspired to be aware of the environment by John Denver is much larger and far-reaching than any other individual, corporation or non-profit.
John Denver saw the earth as our mother. He encouraged us to honor mother earth, made us aware of the many things threatening our environment, and he challenged us to do something, no matter how small, to change it for the better….and that’s what we did.
Let’s celebrate Earth Day and John Denver by listing the things he did to help the environment, or a song he wrote to raise awareness. List just one thing in the comment section and we will see how long we can make the list!
Listen to “Earth Day Every Day”. I especially love the beautiful beginning to this song:
Randy Sparks passed away this past February 11, 2024, at the age of 90.
Randy was a colorful and influential person in the Folk Music Industry. He was also very personable and approachable, and he LOVED to tell stories.
One of the stories he told us (and many others over the years) was the story in which he credits himself as the person who gave John Denver his stage name.
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. was performing at Randy’s club Ledbetters, when Randy commented his name wouldn’t fit on a marquee. Randy suggested that John take the last name of Denver (Randy had written and recorded a song called “Denver” and he said the sheet music was laying there so he suggested that). John resisted. He very adamantly wanted to keep his family name, but he finally and reluctantly went with Randy’s suggestion.
The John Denver connection with Randy Sparks continued with John Denver recording other songs of Randy’s, including “Today” and “Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio” on multi-platinum albums.
Blogs are supposed to be short – so this is my own abbreviated version of a very long and detailed story that Randy told me and Jim. Randy was a wonderful storyteller, he greatly influenced Folk Music history and many aspiring singer/songwriters…learn more on Wikipedia and The New Christy Minstrel website.
Rest in Peace: Lloyd Arrington Sparks (July 29, 1933 – February 11, 2024)
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