In 1971, when John Denver recorded “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” he hadn’t even set foot in West Virginia. Yet the song captured something deeper than geography. It echoed a feeling — of longing, of belonging, of finding your way back to a place you may never have been, but somehow always missed.
Co-written with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, the lyrics were inspired by Danoff’s memories of driving through rural Maryland and the Appalachian countryside. But the name “West Virginia” just sang better — and so it stayed. The first time Denver performed it live was at The Cellar Door in Washington, D.C., and the audience reaction made it clear: this wasn’t just a song. It was an anthem waiting to be embraced.
Decades later, “Country Roads” has become more than a hit — it’s a homecoming. It’s sung at weddings, funerals, football games, and midnight bonfires. It’s the unofficial state anthem of West Virginia. In 2014, the West Virginia Legislature even made it one of their official state songs.
For many, it’s not even about the actual roads or the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s about a place that lives in your heart, a place you’re always trying to return to — physically, spiritually, or emotionally.
John Denver gave us more than melody. He gave us a sense of place. A compass pointing inward. And every time we sing those lines — “Take me home, to the place I belong…” — we feel a little less lost.