# Why do Germans at Oktoberfest sing John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341 "2012-10-20T18:12:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/21 "2012-10-20T23:26:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sometimes a song will catch on with a foreign audience. > > I’ve read the “Sixteen Tons” is a popular song in Russia. I don’t think that is particularly surprising. It is an American, anti-capitalist song. It makes perfect sense that the Soviet regime should have encouraged its popularity in Russia, and once something like that gets entrenched in popular culture, it can stick around long after the conditions that first fostered its popularity have changed. By contrast, I can’t think at all why “Take Me Home Country Roads” should have struck such a chord in Germany, no more than a million other catchy songs of nostalgia. Wasn’t it actually Olivia Newton-John who had the biggest hit with it, though? She has German connections. Her grandfather was German physicist Max Born, one of the fathers of quantum mechanics. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/22 "2012-10-21T00:45:28Z")
I always wondered how the f\*\*\* [this song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-aDN5Q_Jkw) got to be a popular German drinking song. My friends said that even people who spoke no English would yell out the part that’s missing in that version. Here’s an example from some Germans in [Mallorca](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F4brYFh8BI). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/23 "2012-10-21T01:56:48Z")
There are some interesting things about John Denver and “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. John Denver was mostly of German ancestry. He was born in Roswell, New Mexico (as was Demi Moore, so maybe there is something alien about those two). He grew up in many places since his father was an Air Force officer. Eventually John Denver settled in Colorado: > **[John Denver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver)** > > Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American guitarist, singer, composer, actor, humanitarian, and environmentalist. He is known for popularizing acoustic folk music in the 1970s as part of the ongoing singer-songwriter movement of the mid-to-late 20th century. Denver is widely recognized as a cultural icon of the American West. > After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family,... In fact, the song has little in common with the state of West Virginia except the title: > **[Take Me Home, Country Roads](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_Home,_Country_Roads)** > > "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 was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971, and Platinum on April 10, 2017. The song became one of John Denver's most popular songs. It has continue It was written in a folk club in Washington, D.C. by Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert. Danoff and Nivert had just gotten back from a family reunion in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which was more rural then than it is today. Specifically, they were thinking about Clopper Road there. The locations mentioned in the song are actually mostly located in Virginia rather than West Virginia. Denver, Danoff, and Nivert didn’t know much about West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/24 "2012-10-21T02:03:34Z")
Sing it at your own drunken risk: [John Denver karaoke sparks Thai killing spree](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581130/John-Denver-karaoke-sparks-Thai-killing-spree.html). Eight dead in the end, including the perp’s brother-in-law. **“‘When I began shooting nobody pleaded for his life because they were all drunk’,” he said after his arrest."** ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/25 "2012-10-21T02:15:37Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve heard it’s a very popular song in many languages, like Chinese, for instance. The idea of going back to your hometown is kind of universal, I guess. Indeed. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” features prominently in the Japanese animated movie _Whisper of the Heart._ ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/26 "2012-10-21T02:16:47Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I don’t think that is particularly surprising. It is an American, anti-capitalist song. It makes perfect sense that the Soviet regime should have encouraged its popularity in Russia . . . Maybe, but I think the real reason is simply the tune. It sounds like a Russian folk song. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/27 "2012-10-21T03:15:40Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Indeed. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” features prominently in the Japanese animated movie _Whisper of the Heart._ And “Whisper of the Heart” is by Miyazaki, the anime director best known in … West Virginia! Coincidence … or CONSPIRACY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Uther\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Uther\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uther_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/28 "2012-10-21T03:30:03Z")
I think this is the version that made the song so popular. Proceed at your own risk: https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x3qm79 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/29 "2012-10-21T03:41:49Z")
The only time I’ve seen [this](http://youtu.be/ewrAOs9cD3Y) activity before was old footage of Coney Island or the crazy unsafe rides. I guess drinking lots of beer makes it safer somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/30 "2012-10-21T03:45:46Z")
I don’t really know how to respond in this thread other than to say John Denver was the shit. As a kid going to camp in the late 1970s and early 1980s, John Denver was everywhere. _Leaving On a Jet Plane_ was often played over the camp PA in the morning. _TMHCR_, and _Thank God I’m a Country Boy_ were often sung by the entire camp after lunch or dinner. The songs are easy to learn and have a timeless, universal quality to them that almost anyone can relate to. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/31 "2012-10-21T04:21:20Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > _Leaving On a Jet Plane_ was often played over the camp PA in the morning. I did not know that was a John Denver song. Always thought Peter, Paul and Mary wrote it. Live and learn. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/32 "2012-10-21T04:42:45Z")
It’s also ludicrously popular in Ireland. I guess it’s just an American [schlager](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlager_music) song is it? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/33 "2012-10-21T05:30:27Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > And “Whisper of the Heart” is by Miyazaki, the anime director best known in … West Virginia! Coincidence … or CONSPIRACY!!! Anyone else think it’s suspicious how you never see John Denver and Hayao Miyazaki in the same room together? No, just me? Okay then. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/34 "2012-10-21T05:45:30Z")
This thread is very enlightening to me. I thought Denver’s music was buried as deeply as his body – I can’t remember the last time I heard any of his tunes on the radio. I had no idea he had such an international following. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/35 "2012-10-21T05:47:43Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This thread is very enlightening to me. I thought Denver’s music was buried as deeply as his body – I can’t remember the last time I heard any of his tunes on the radio. I had no idea he had such an international following. Particularly that song, this [Jamaican](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M1JJ8fAXHo) version of it is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/36 "2012-10-21T06:47:31Z")
I have some alternate lyrics for next year’s Oktoberfest. Almost Heaven Schleswig-Holstein Kaiser Wilhelm Lederhosen fashions! Life is Old there, Older than the Zee! Younger than the mountains in Southern Germany. Autobahn Take me on To the Place to Goosestep On. Western Poland into Russia Take me On Autobahn I hear his voice, in the morning hour he heils me. Der radio reminds me of my oath of loy-al-ty And drivin’ on to Moscow, I get feelin’ Shoulda been retreatin’ yes-ter DAY! Yes-ter DAY! Autobahn… ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/37 "2012-10-21T07:34:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This thread is very enlightening to me. I thought Denver’s music was buried as deeply as his body… Since his ashes were scatted somewhere in the Rockies, your misconception kinda makes sense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/eada6e/32.png) [@\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Undecided_Adrian)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/38 "2012-10-21T09:14:37Z")
The focus on lyrics is something I often find quite baffling. The reason the song is popular is that it’s catchy and easy to sing _a capella_ while drunk. Certain feelings of generalized \*Heimweh \*perhaps add a little to the appeal, but I can assure you that nobody at Oktoberfest gives a shit about West Virginia 🙂 **Boyo Jim** , that was pretty funny! ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/39 "2012-10-21T10:11:27Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > And “Whisper of the Heart” is by Miyazaki, the anime director best known in … West Virginia! Coincidence … or CONSPIRACY!!! It’s Studio Ghibli, but it was directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, not Miyazaki. I have no idea how famous he is in West Virginia… ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341/40 "2012-10-21T10:28:12Z")
> [@Uther\_Penguin](#): > > I think this is the version that made the song so popular. Proceed at your own risk: > [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3qm79\_country-roads-remix-by-hermes-house\_music](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3qm79_country-roads-remix-by-hermes-house_music) Yeah…sorry, can’t blame that one on the Germans. With much shame: Hermes House Band is Dutch:(. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-germans-at-oktoberfest-sing-john-denvers-take-me-home-country-roads/638341.md?page=3)