Rhymes and Reasons

This was from John Denver's first solo album, and is one my favorite songs of his. OK, so it's a bit naive, but isn't that what's best about Denver? Several commenters on YouTube have noticed a connection between this song and 9/11, all stemming from the opening lines of the second verse: "Oh the cities start to crumble and the towers start to fall around us / The sun is slowly fading and it's colder than the sea." Although I see the obvious connection, I'm sure I like connecting the rest of the song. I'm not sure it works, and I would have rather left the song unconnected in my head to that day. But, there it is, the connection has been made for me, and I probably won't be able to break it.

Rocky Mountain High

When I was in junior high, I became a fan of John Denver, in part because I heard some of the older boys in my Boy Scout troop speaking well of him. I came to really like his music on its own merit though. It has kind of been one of my secret vices every since. He was never exactly cool, so I never talked much about it. Rocky Mountain High was one his songs that spoke to me in a very direct way. In the same era that I was beginning to listen to Denver, I was going on my first backpacking trips, and one weekend a month camping with the Boy Scouts. Hearing it now, even though I haven't had a backpack on for over a decade makes me want to get out a map and find a lake somewhere high in the Rockies to climb to.