‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ Is Now the Official West Virginia State Song (2024)

FAQs

Is Take Me Home, Country Roads not actually about West Virginia? ›

The John Denver song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is not really referring to West Virginia geography, but “western Virginia” geography. The second line of the song, “Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River” identifies two clear geographic features that are more relevant to western Virginia than West Virginia.

Today, West Virginia has four state songs. In addition to “The West Virginia Hills,” “West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home,” and “This is My West Virginia,” John Denver's “Country Roads” was approved as another official state song in 2014.

The song is in the first person viewpoint, and the singer is a long-distance trucker. This profession takes him away from his home and family for extended periods of time. As he's singing he is on his way home to his beloved rural West Virginia, a state in the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern US.

"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver. 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 is also played after every home victory and fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing along with the team. John Denver christened the new stadium when he performed Country Roads during the pre-game festivities before the Mountaineers faced Cincinnati in the 1980 season opener.

"Take Me Home, Country Roads", (also called "Take Me Home" or "Country Roads") is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver about the state of West Virginia.

Official State Songs

New Jersey is the only state in the US without an official state song, but they do have a popular one that has been designated “the unofficial state song of New Jersey”. There are a few states that actually have multiple songs too. The style of the song varies from state to state.

Tennessee has 10 state songs. A list of all 10 and the year each was adopted as a state song: 1925: "My Homeland, Tennessee" 1935: "When It's Iris Time in Tennessee"

Nickname: The Mountain State. Statehood: 1863; 35th state.

The lyrics for "Country Roads" were written by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who were reportedly inspired by their drive along Interstate 81, which runs primarily through western Virginia.

Who sang Take Me Home, Country Roads? ›

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver, released in April of 1971, is just one of the many standout moments.

“Country Roads” is featured in plenty of movies, with many prominent examples from the 21st century, according to IMDb. Recent examples in movies include “The Machine,” the sequel to 2019's “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion,” “Dark Waters,” “Logan Lucky,” “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and “Alien: Covenant” to name a few.

Famous for rugged landscapes and the Appalachian mountains, West Virginia is one of America's most underrated states. Most people are familiar with West Virginia thanks to the classic John Denver song, 'Country Roads, Take Me Home' but the state has lots to offer visitors.

Perhaps surprisingly, the inspiration for “Take Me Home, Country Roads” occurred in the state of Maryland. The “country road” was Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The song was originated by Bill Danoff and Mary Catherine “Taffy” Nivert. Taffy was his wife at the time.

Ron Deutschendorf

John Denver / Brother

The final stretch of the Shenandoah flows through Jefferson County, West Virginia. The Shenandoah has a 3,000-square-mile drainage area, which includes a large portion of Virginia west of the Blue Ridge and much of Jefferson County.

Your first step would be leaving the state of West Virginia. Perhaps surprisingly, the inspiration for “Take Me Home, Country Roads” occurred in the state of Maryland. The “country road” was Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have acquired its statehood by proclamation of the President of the United States. West Virginia is the only state completely within the Appalachian Mountain range, aptly given the nickname the Mountain State. West Virginia is the third most forested state.

Divided into Northern and Southern sections by the Roanoke River gap, the Blue Ridge traverses 8 states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, with the longest portion slicing a great crescent through all of western Virginia.