Tag Archives: John Denver

♫ Calypso ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, History, music

When I last played this in 2020, almost overwhelmingly everyone said that while they hadn’t thought of this song in ages, they liked it.  I was scrounging the archives tonight, too lazy to play something new, but not wanting to rely on one of my old faves, when I came across this one by John Denver, and decided it was worthy of a redux!

This song is about the ship Calypso, which was launched in Seattle, Washington, USA during World War II. She was built to serve as a minesweeper for the British, to clear explosives from ports and harbors, and was christened J-826 and lowered into the water on March 21, 1942. (Why are ships always females???)

CalypsoIn the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey, Calypso was the name of a sea nymph who held the hero Odysseus in thrall for seven years. Gozo is, by tradition, the island where Calypso once lived.

In 1950, French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau purchased the Calypso and converted it to an oceanographic ship. Cousteau wanted to understand “The silent world” better, in order to protect it.  “To live on the land we must learn from the sea” – Cousteau was the first to do research on pollution and its effects on the sea and received many honors for his accomplishments. John Denver cared deeply about nature and this song was a tribute to both Calypso and her captain and their valuable work.

Denver wrote the chorus to this song when he was on board the Calypso. He struggled to complete the song, spending months trying to write classical-sounding verses to a sea shanty chorus. He was about to abandon the song when he got the idea for the words when he was skiing. Denver got off the slopes quick and jumped in his Jeep, where he drove home to get his ideas on paper and complete the song.

Calypso
John Denver

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and living
In search of the answers to the questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide and free as a wind swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Denver
Calypso lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ Annie’s Song ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Okay, I considered this one last night, but then ended up a mile or two away with my selection of “Rhythm of the Night”, but I really love this song and it kept popping back into my head today, so … time to share it and give my own head a break!

John Denver (born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.) wrote this for his then-wife Ann Martell after their first separation and near break up of their marriage in 1974. He said that it was one of the fastest songs he ever wrote, composing it in about 10 minutes while he was riding on a ski lift in Aspen, Colorado. Denver was reflecting on all the joy he found in his marriage and his relief that they were back together.  According to Denver …

“Suddenly, I’m hypersensitive to how beautiful everything is. All of these things filled up my senses, and when I said this to myself unbidden images came one after the other. All of the pictures merged and I was left with Annie. That song was the embodiment of the love I felt at that time.”

Annie recalled the day Denver wrote the song …

“It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down… Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a prayer.”

Despite all that, they divorced in 1982.

I did not know that the song was adopted by Sheffield United Football Club, from Sheffield, England. The first few lines are played to a home crowd at the beginning of each half of the game, the fans then sing along but with altered words that relate to the Club.

The song was John Denver’s second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974, and went to number one in the United Kingdom, where it was Denver’s only major hit single.

Annie’s Song
John Denver

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Songwriters: John Denver
Annie’s Song lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management

♫ Everyday ♫

Posted on by under music

Tonight I went in search of something … positive, upbeat, to reflect the mood of the nation after the inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris.  We once again have hope for a future … a brighter future for ourselves, for the nation, and for the planet.  So, I came across this one, originally by Buddy Holly.  Naturally, the lyrics accompanying the one rattling in my head were different from the actual lyrics … I had “Everyday, things are looking brighter …”, which is … well, close but no cigar!  Still … close enough for me.

This is listed as being written by Charles Hardin and Norman Petty. Charles Hardin is actually Buddy Holly: his real name was Charles Hardin Holley. The song was recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, however on the original single the Crickets are not mentioned, but it is known that Holly plays acoustic guitar; drummer Jerry Allison slaps his knees for percussion; Joe B. Mauldin plays a standup acoustic bass; and producer Norman Petty’s wife Vi Petty plays the celesta aka celeste (a keyboard instrument with a glockenspiel-like tone, used in such classical pieces as “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from The Nutcracker).

What’s interesting … I found this song rattling about in my head tonight, but couldn’t remember the song title nor the name of the artist.  I Googled, using the one line I could remember of the lyrics, and found it was by Buddy Holly.  I listened … yep, that’s the song, just as I remember it.  However, Buddy Holly’s version, release in 1957 as the B-side of Peggy Sue, never charted!  However, both John Denver and James Taylor did versions of the song that did chart, Denver’s at #81 in 1972, and Taylor’s at #61 in 1985.  Truth be told, much as I like John Denver and love James Taylor, Holly’s is still my favourite, perhaps because it’s the one I remember from my childhood.  At any rate, I’ll give you all three and you can choose your own favourite.

Everyday
Buddy Holly and the Crickets

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ faster
Everyone said, “Go up and ask her”
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey

Everyday seems a little longer
Every way, love’s a little stronger
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey

Everyday seems a little longer
Every way, love’s a little stronger
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey, hey
Love like yours will surely come my way

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Ignacio Sotomayor Roman
Everyday lyrics © Peer International Corporation, Peer International Corp

♫ Calypso ♫

Posted on by under Environmental Issues, music

Tonight’s song is one that I haven’t thought of nor heard in years … and years … until it was mentioned in a conversation earlier.  Then, as these things happen, it was stuck in my head and cried out to be shared!

This song is about the ship Calypso, which was launched in Seattle, Washington, USA during World War II. She was built to serve as a minesweeper for the British, to clear explosives from ports and harbors, and was christened J-826 and lowered into the water on March 21, 1942. (Why are ships always females???)

CalypsoIn the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey, Calypso was the name of a sea nymph who held the hero Odysseus in thrall for seven years. Gozo is, by tradition, the island where Calypso once lived.

In 1950, French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau purchased the Calypso and converted it to an oceanographic ship. Cousteau wanted to understand “The silent world” better, in order to protect it.  “To live on the land we must learn from the sea” – Cousteau was the first to do research on pollution and its effects on the sea and received many honors for his accomplishments. John Denver cared deeply about nature and this song was a tribute to both Calypso and her captain and their valuable work.

Denver wrote the chorus to this song when he was on board the Calypso. He struggled to complete the song, spending months trying to write classical-sounding verses to a sea shanty chorus. He was about to abandon the song when he got the idea for the words when he was skiing. Denver got off the slopes quick and jumped in his Jeep, where he drove home to get his ideas on paper and complete the song.

Calypso
John Denver

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and living
In search of the answers to the questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide and free as a wind swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Aye Calypso the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Denver
Calypso lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ Annie’s Song ♫

Posted on by under music

Last night’s song, You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, performed so perfectly by Aretha Franklin is a tough act to follow.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I cannot top that one.

John Denver wrote this for his then-wife Ann Martell after their first separation and near break up of their marriage in 1974. He said that it was one of the fastest songs he ever wrote, composing it in about 10 minutes while he was riding on a ski lift in Aspen, Colorado. Denver was reflecting on all the joy he found in his marriage and his relief that they were back together.  According to Denver …

“Suddenly, I’m hypersensitive to how beautiful everything is. All of these things filled up my senses, and when I said this to myself unbidden images came one after the other. All of the pictures merged and I was left with Annie. That song was the embodiment of the love I felt at that time.”

Annie recalled the day Denver wrote the song …

“It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down… Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a prayer.”

I did not know that the song was adopted by Sheffield United Football Club, from Sheffield, England. The first few lines are played to a home crowd at the beginning of each half of the game, the fans then sing along but with altered words that relate to the Club.

The song was John Denver’s second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974, and went to number one in the United Kingdom, where it was Denver’s only major hit single.

Annie’s Song
John Denver

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Songwriters: John Denver
Annie’s Song lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management

♫ Leaving On A Jet Plane (Redux) ♫

Posted on by under music, Tributes

This is a repeat of a song that I played the day after this date last year to mark the death of singer John Denver in a plane crash on October 12th, 1997.  Listen to what Mama Cass has to say at the beginning, for I think that her words back when they did this song are every bit as relevant today as they were when they sang this song in 1972.

Yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of the plane crash that killed singer John Denver.  I was not aware of it yesterday, else I would not be a day late in playing this song, but friend Ellen informed me of the occasion yesterday afternoon.  Ellen also kindly pointed me to a video clip that seems appropriate to mark the occasion of Denver’s death at age 53.  The clip comes from Burt Sugarman’s show, The Midnight Special on August 19, 1972.  This episode was filmed less than three months before the presidential election that would see Richard Milhous Nixon begin a second term that he would not complete.  According to the IMDB …

John Denver guest hosted this Pilot (Episode 1) with guests that included: Mama Cass, The Everly Brothers, The Isley Brothers, Harry Chapin, Linda Ronstadt, Argent and Helen Reddy. The theme of this pilot was to encourage the youth that had reached 18 years to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election. The voting age had just been lowered to 18. The two biggest issues, at that time, were Watergate and the war in Vietnam. Among the musical highlights were Harry Chapin performing his hit “Taxi”, Linda Ronstadt sang her popular ballad “Long Long Time”, Helen Reddy sang “I Am Woman” and the Britsh group Argent performed their 1972 hit “Hold Tour Head High” [sic]. Wolfman Jack appeared on camera as the main host and announcer and previewed upcoming shows, which he would do for the series’ 8 year run.

In this clip, Denver is joined by ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot, formerly of the Mamas and the Papas, and the two do a duet of Leaving on a Jet Plane, a song that had been made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1967.  Interestingly, Cass Elliot would die of heart failure less than two years after singing with John Denver.

Denver wrote the song in 1966.  It turned out to be Peter, Paul and Mary’s biggest (and final) hit, becoming their only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.  This one surprised me, for I am a fan of PPM, but Leaving on a Jet Plane is not my favourite of their works.

At any rate … in honour of John Denver, a day late, I give you …

Leaving on a Jet Plane
John Denver & Cass Elliot

All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go
I’m standin’ here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin’
It’s early morn
The taxi’s waitin’
He’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There’s so many times I’ve let you down
So many times I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Ev’ry place I go, I’ll think of you
Ev’ry song I sing, I’ll sing for you
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time
Let me kiss you
Then close your eyes
I’ll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won’t have to leave alone
About the times, I won’t have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Songwriters: John Denver
Leaving on a Jet Plane lyrics © Reservoir One Music, Reservoir Media Management Inc, BMG Rights Management

♫ Leaving On A Jet Plane ♫

Posted on by under music, Tributes

Yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of the plane crash that killed singer John Denver.  I was not aware of it yesterday, else I would not be a day late in playing this song, but friend Ellen informed me of the occasion yesterday afternoon.  Ellen also kindly pointed me to a video clip that seems appropriate to mark the occasion of Denver’s death at age 53.  The clip comes from Burt Sugarman’s show, The Midnight Special on August 19, 1972.  This episode was filmed less than three months before the presidential election that would see Richard Milhous Nixon begin a second term that he would not complete.  According to the IMDB …

John Denver guest hosted this Pilot (Episode 1) with guests that included: Mama Cass, The Everly Brothers, The Isley Brothers, Harry Chapin, Linda Ronstadt, Argent and Helen Reddy. The theme of this pilot was to encourage the youth that had reached 18 years to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election. The voting age had just been lowered to 18. The two biggest issues, at that time, were Watergate and the war in Vietnam. Among the musical highlights were Harry Chapin performing his hit “Taxi”, Linda Ronstadt sang her popular ballad “Long Long Time”, Helen Reddy sang “I Am Woman” and the Britsh group Argent performed their 1972 hit “Hold Tour Head High” [sic]. Wolfman Jack appeared on camera as the main host and announcer and previewed upcoming shows, which he would do for the series’ 8 year run.

In this clip, Denver is joined by ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot, formerly of the Mamas and the Papas, and the two do a duet of Leaving on a Jet Plane, a song that had been made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1967.  Interestingly, Cass Elliot would die of heart failure less than two years after singing with John Denver.

Denver wrote the song in 1966.  It turned out to be Peter, Paul and Mary’s biggest (and final) hit, becoming their only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.  This one surprised me, for I am a fan of PPM, but Leaving on a Jet Plane is not my favourite of their works.

At any rate … in honour of John Denver, a day late, I give you …

Leaving on a Jet Plane
John Denver & Cass Elliot

All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go
I’m standin’ here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin’
It’s early morn
The taxi’s waitin’
He’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There’s so many times I’ve let you down
So many times I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Ev’ry place I go, I’ll think of you
Ev’ry song I sing, I’ll sing for you
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time
Let me kiss you
Then close your eyes
I’ll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won’t have to leave alone
About the times, I won’t have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Songwriters: John Denver
Leaving on a Jet Plane lyrics © Reservoir One Music, Reservoir Media Management Inc, BMG Rights Management