Although I never made it to WVU after graduating from Parkersburg South High School, I have always felt connected to WVU. My first recollection of “Country Roads” was in the summer of 1971 when I heard the song on the Armed Forces Vietnam Network. I was stationed on top of Vung Chua Mountain in Vietnam overlooking Qui Nhon and the South China Sea. That song allowed me to transport myself to another place and gave me hope during some trying times. I made it back to the “real” world, and now when I listen to the song, the memories of another time and another place are in my mind.

John Snyder
Parent of two WVU students
Pigeon, WV

I was working in Munich, Germany, and my business associates and I were having a great meal at Augustiner Brau Munchen, which is more than 500 years old. Into the restaurant walks 25 people out of a fairy tale, dressed up in outfits dating back hundreds of years. They were celebrating “Tree Day,” a German tradition where a town steals a tree from another village and holds it for ransom (payment is made in beer). The group started playing folk songs and everyone sang and danced. After realizing we were Americans, they bought us a round of drinks, and we reciprocated. Someone yelled out, “The Americans have to sing!” Knowing my allegiances to the gold and blue, one of my associates yells back that I will sing “Country Roads.” The group immediately started singing and I chimed in. I sang a verse, and then every single person in the restaurant (at least 150) sang the chorus over and over with me. They knew every word. It was “almost heaven.”

Bob Widdows, ‘88 BA
Clear Brook, VA

The most memorable place I recall hearing Country Roads was during my travels from West Virginia to Colorado. In 1981, I was leaving my home in West Virginia to move to Colorado Springs, CO. I had a stopover at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, for three days, where I stayed in military guest housing. This was the first time I had been so far from home and the minutes seemed like hours. The second day was a beautiful fall day – sunny and crisp with the smell of fall leaves in the air. As I sat on the bed looking out the window, wondering about all that I had left behind in West Virginia, I heard a battalion of soldiers singing cadence, the sound was ominous and became louder and louder as the soldiers drew closer. About the time the soldiers came into view, the entire battalion starting singing “Country Roads.” To me, the words echoed like there were a thousand voices. It was as though God had sent this song to match my thoughts that day and what better group of people to sing “Country Roads” than a group of soldiers! At that moment, Almost heaven, West Virginia, took on a whole new meaning for me.

Rhonda Underwood, proud parent of WVU Students, Josh and Jared Underwood
Beckley, WV

My husband and I have attended several WVU weddings over the course of the years and every one ends the night with “Country Roads.” At our wedding in 2007, we failed to check with the DJ ahead of time to see if he had the song. When the end of the night came and the music ended, our Mountaineer friends spontaneously sprung in to “Almost Heaven, West Virginia.” The entire song was sung without any background music as the group swayed in a circle with their arms around each other. It’s one of my most favorite memories of our wedding.

Sarah Sperry, BS ‘97
Pittsburgh, PA

I studied German in Salzburg, Austria as part of WVU’s study abroad program. I was always telling stories to my wife of the fantastic times I had while in the region, so we finally went in the fall of 2006. We started our trip in Munich, which happened to be during Oktoberfest. As all tourists are required to do, we went to have beer at the Hofbrauhaus. The place was packed and the oompah band had the place jumping. All of a sudden, they began to play a familiar tune—it was “Country Roads.” People from all over the world knew the words and began to sign. I’m sure John Denver never imagined a lederhosen-clad band would be leading a multi-national rendition of one of his tunes. It was truly surreal and unforgettable.

David “Scooter” Colville, ‘91 BA
Chicago, IL

My wife and I were expecting our first child in 2007, and there were complications with the pregnancy. The cord had wrapped around the baby’s neck and his heart rate dropped each time there was a contraction. My wife also had low blood platelets, so it was touch and go the whole evening. I didn’t know if the baby and my wife would be all right. After monitoring the screens and listening to the baby’s heart rate, the doctor decided that the baby was in danger, and my son Grant was born via c-section. While my wife recovered, I had to go to the nursery for his shots and cleanup. He was cold, crying and shivering, so the nurse told me to sit in the rocking chair and sing to him. I had not slept in more than 48 hours. Running on pure energy and relief that my wife and baby had came through healthy, I sang the only song that came to mind (and the only one I knew all the words to), “Country Roads, take me home, to the place I belong…” My little boy stopped crying and fell asleep in my arms.

Shawn Goddard, ‘01 BA
Rockville, Md.

My husband, Dave Higgins, and I were on my first-ever trip to Europe a couple of years ago, and we were visiting Zurich, Switzerland. We were at a pub in the historic section of the city, listening to an “oompah” band and enjoying fondue. We were all seated at long picnic type tables/benches, and it was quite a festive atmosphere with a variety of ages represented, including a table full of young adults who worked in the financial industry. (Interestingly, I was talking with them and they were from all over the world). The band sang everything in Swiss-German and then all of a sudden began singing, in English, “Country Roads.” Then the really amazing thing was that all the pub patrons began singing! The table full of young adults even stood on their benches and raised their beers to the song! When the band took a break, I thanked the singer, and she clearly didn’t understand what I was saying and had no idea what “being from West Virginia” meant but she appreciated that I liked the song. It was one of the highlights of our trip and certainly shows that “Country Roads” has taken on a life of its own around the world!

Patti Hamilton, WVU class of 1973

Patricia L Hamilton, CAE

I am a biology student at WVU. The craziest or most unusual place that I have ever heard “Country Roads” was during the summer of 2003 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I was a college student at the sister college of WVU – WVU at Parkersburg. I went on a summer trip with two professors at the college, Emily and George Lamb. We went to five different countries over a span of 12 days. When we arrived in Amsterdam we had a planned a schedule of events, but later that night we were free to go out and explore the city. Eight of us, including myself, when out that night.

We stopped at a pub that was in the middle of the town to have a beer. Only five other people were in the pub besides us. We ordered our beer and the bartender brought it to us at the back table at which we were sitting. He then asked us where we were from. We told him from West Virginia in the U.S. We then said we are here on a college trip from West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVU-P).

First of all, he recognized West Virginia as a state, which most people in our own country don’t even do. He then said that he knew WVU and said he would be right back. We all thought what is he going to do or what is going to happen. He went behind the bar and hit buttons on his stereo which was hooked up to surround sound all throughout the pub. Again we all thought, “what is he doing?” At that time we heard the great voice of John Denver, “Almost Heaven, West Virginia….”, I looked at my group in shock for a second, then stood up and directly started to sing along. The rest of the group got up and started singing, then the bartender came over and started singing with us, next one of the gentlemen from the bar came over and started singing as well. Before we knew it we all were holding up our beer and singing “Take Me Home Country Roads” with two gentlemen from Amsterdam while the other three at the bar was singing along as well. I was completely shocked that they knew West Virginia was a state, then they knew WVU, and the song “Country Roads” and on top of that to know its meaning to WVU. It was awesome to say the least. It was truly a great day to be a Mountaineer. After the song went off, he continued playing country-bluegrass songs and we all danced and sang all night long. It was, and is without a doubt, the most unusual or craziest place I ever thought I would hear that song.

I hope you consider this story to share with others, I know I have. Thank you!!

My husband and I are both WVU alumni. We got married not long after I graduated in 1980. At our reception, we used “Country Roads” for our dance. I am an alum of the “Pride of West Virginia,” and he graduated from the School of Music, it just seemed appropriate since we also met in the music library at the Creative Arts Center.

Joy (Aubel) Miller, BSW ‘80
Jim Miller, MM ‘79

I am of Irish heritage. Some friends and I took a trip to Dublin in February 2007. We noticed early on that upon telling a Dubliner that we were from West Virginia, the response was almost always “Mountain Momma!” One evening we went to a pub that is popular with the younger crowd because of its live, progressive Irish music. I happened to be wearing a WVU hat that turned out to be a conversation piece for the rather large crowd of 200 or so, most of whom were many years younger than us, and by and by we made many new Irish friends. Much later that night as we stood in the outdoor beer garden, we were startled to hear the entire pub, arms raised and pints swaying to-and-fro, begin to sing: “Country roads, take me home …”. It brought tears to our eyes, and we will never forget it.

Thanks for letting me share my Country Roads story.

Bill Power 81, 84.

I had to chuckle when I received the magazine and read the Country Roads article. Back in the fall of 1975, I went to school at West Liberty State College, near Wheeling, W.Va. John Denver had been belting out “Country Roads” for a few years. When my daughter came home one weekend, she was at the computer in the living room, and I was in the kitchen. All of a sudden, I heard something that I wasn’t quite sure of, so I asked her to turn up the volume and I just started laughing (actually I had a few tears in my eyes, remembering). It’s another similarity that the world is smaller than you think.

Go Mountaineers!

Kathy Cottage

In 2003, I traveled to Beaches Resort at Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. On our last night there, we heard a Jamaican version of “Country Roads.” We knew it was time to go home.

Current WVU student,
Vanessa Law

My sister, a sophmore at Florida State University, had
this experience while she was a senior at Greenbrier
East High School:

The honors English class took a trip to Austria and
Germany over Thanksgiving break, 2005. The group went
into an “Irish Pub” in Salzburg, Austria. They were
talking to the Austrian musician who was furnishing
the entertainment. He asked them where they were from
and they said “West Virginia, USA”. He said that he
had a song for them and immediately started playing
“Country Roads”. While the high school students
didn’t know all the words, every Austrian in the bar
could sing all the words in English. My sister was
amazed and a little embarrassed for her group.

Andrew Feyh
Student, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

The summer before my senior year of college I spent it studying in the Mediterranean. Traveling all over Cyprus, Greece and Italy.

At one point we took an unplanned trip to Cairo, Egypt. Before heading to Giza there was a short lunch cruise on the Nile where there was, of course, signature terrible cruise ship entertainment ending with a man who knew very little English attempting “Country Roads!” Being the proud WVU student that I am, I started belting out the words for him, while the British passengers stopped eating and shifted their eyes to me in amazement, and my fellow classmates from Wisconsin, Colorado and Indiana stared on, jealous that I had more pride for my school in my left pinky then they could flaunt in a million years. Let’s Go Mountaineers!

Madeleine Hoden
Student, Exercise Physiology
Warren, Pa.

In 1978 three alumni friends and myself were vacationing on a tiny Bahamian island, Great Harbour Cay.

On the last evening of the trip we went to the island’s only club. The entertainment was a local Calypso/rock band. They had no idea where we were from until they started playing the strangest version of “Country Roads” that I ever heard. I’m sure that the band and the rest of the audience figured out that we were West Virginians by the end of the song!

J.F. Dudek ‘73

My “Country Roads” story is not a happy one, but I feel it is worthy of sharing. At the end of July 2007, my mother was placed under hospice care in the nursing home she had been admitted to the month before. She was an Alzheimer’s patient and the news was painful.

As soon as I became aware of her circumstances, I would travel the 45 minute-drive to visit with her three to seven times a week. I spent a great deal of time with her over the next 7+ months. She didn’t know who I was, but I talked to her, fed her and sang to her like she was any normal, healthy person. One of the songs that I sang to her everyday was “Country Roads.” I hope it was a source of comfort to her and in one of her extremely brief moments of apparent lucidness, maybe she recognized my voice. Mom passed away a few weeks ago. “Country Roads” will forever remind me of the time I spent with her.

Anne Wildman
Mother of WVU Student Kayti Wildman (Class of 2011)

Many years ago I was in Chicago for a business meeting, and it happened to be St. Patrick’s Day.

My brother and I decided to celebrate our Irish heritage by going out to a pub. We found a pub that had a band performing from Ireland. At one point in the performance, one of the band members asked us where we were from and when we told them, with much pride, “West Virginia!”

The band began playing “Take me home County Roads.” Naturally the three of us stood and started singing it with the band, and it wasn’t long before everyone in the pub was singing too.

I very seldom go to bars, but I have to say that night was one of the most memorable nights I ever had while traveling.

Martin Shaffer, Class of ‘76
Clarksburg, W.Va.

Although I am not an alumnus of WVU, my son graduated in May from WVU and his experience there has been wonderful.

Our first Parents Weekend football game in 2004 was against Maryland (which by the way, we won in overtime), and although the game was very exciting, I was moved most at the end of the game when everyone stayed in the stands and sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. I’m not sure I can explain the feeling, but I remember saying to my son that I couldn’t imagine him being at any other university. I also made sure we stayed until the end of every game that we have been to since then, just so I could sing along.

I have always liked John Denver and have a CD of his so when I find myself missing my son, I put in that CD and crank up “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (which that first year I played it a lot!). It just makes me feel much better and somehow I feel closer to my son even when he is four hours from home. That song will always have a special place in my heart.

Thanks for letting me share,

Pat Badorf
Lancaster, Pa.

The oddest place I have heard “Country Roads” happened about four years ago. I was in Munich, Germany, on a layover for a business trip. It was a snowy October evening so we decided to head over to the Hofbrau house for dinner. The Hofbrau house is a well known, traditional German beer hall. They have an “oompah” band that sits there and plays music all night long. There were quite a few people there that night, enjoying the huge one-liter beers. The atmosphere in the Hofbrau house is always festive and filled with the sound of people’s chatter and the band. About midway through dinner, the band broke into “Country Roads.” And to my surprise, everyone started singing it. I was shocked. I had no idea that they would know that song. Apparently it is one of Hofbrau houses’ favorites as well. I think that occasion has made Munich one of my favorite places to go.

Joe Woliver
Class of 1995
BS Civil Engineering

While I am a Parents Club Member (my daughter Hayley Burdett is a student majoring in English), I am not an alumnus, but do have an interesting story about my “Country Roads” experience.

I was on a business trip to China, traveling on an overnight train from DaTong to Beijing. As we were approaching the Beijing station in the morning they put some music on the loud speaker system to wake you up and get you ready to get off the train. The music was catchy and familiar but since it was in Chinese (which I don’t speak), I wasn’t sure what it was at first. But when it got to the chorus part, even in Chinese it was pretty clear they were saying “Take Me Home Country Roads…” . The song had a little more tingling sound to it, but still wakes you up and gets you moving in any language.

Bob Burdett
WVU Parent

My husband, myself and our younger daughter, Lindsay, were recently visiting our older daughter, Caitlin, a WVU junior studying abroad at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco in northern Africa.

While exploring the Roman ruins in Volubilis (kingdom of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony’s daughter), we encountered some Austrian tourists. One gentleman struggled to ask in English what state we were from. After hearing “West Virginia”, he repeated “home – that home place??” and then sang a perfect version of “Take Me Home Country Roads” to us! It was a memorable moment!

Peggy (Davis) & Chuck Bailey
Class of 1976

I was in the German Alps this past March skiing on the Zugspitze Glacier when I came upon a warming hut. Playing from the speakers was “Country Roads”. I stopped in a blinding snowstorm at 10,550 feet and with goose bumps and sang along. A couple of Germans skied by me and gave a thumbs up, so “our song” is universally admired!

Very truly,

William H. Lively Jr.
Charleston, WV
Class of ‘83

Wow, it gives me chill bumps just hearing the name of the song. It’s a great way to get totally pumped for the upcoming season.

True West Virginians who have left the state for different reasons and may not even be sports fans, feel so connected to their roots and the heritage they have left. At 21, I married and moved to North Carolina for a better job opportunity. I made many wonderful friends, and it was as close to home without actually being there.

Country, to me, means close communities, helping those in need, a genuine caring attitude, unity, closeness to God, family, and friends. Being in North Carolina, away from my family who is so close, and hearing “Country Roads” being played beckoned me back to my true home over the North Carolina airwaves. If I or one of my sisters cannot attend a game, we call the one who is not there and she sings along over the cell phone to “Country Roads”.

Once, I gave my ticket to someone who had never attended a game so they could experience the sheer thrill from “The Pride of WV” to the singing of “Country Roads”. My nephews’ mobile home is across from stadium at the very top of that notorious steep road. I watched the game on TV and went outside to celebrate by myself and hearing the echo of the entire stadium singing took my breath away. I have never sang so loud as I was contributing to this great “unity” that brought me back home to “Almost Heaven” West Virginia. I love this state and I love WVU Mountaineers. Coach Stew and his boys, you’ll never find a more supportive and loyal group of followers. We love you and will be there to support you through this winning season as we soooo look forward to another bowl game.

Gina Griffith
Mother of upcoming WVU student-Ryan Griffith and proud aunt of Josh and Jared Underwood

I have traveled quite a bit and heard “Country Roads” in many different places. The most memorable place I recall hearing the song was during my travels from West Virginia to Colorado.

In 1981, at a very young age, I was leaving my home in West Virginia to move to Colorado Springs, CO. I had a stopover at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, for three days, where I stayed in military guest housing. Needless to say the housing arrangement was not the Marriott – a twin bed, common living quarters, shared bath and no TV! This was the first time I had been so far from home on my own and the minutes seemed like hours. The second day was a beautiful fall day – sunny, crisp and clear, with the smell of fall leaves in the air. As I sat on the bed looking out the window, wondering about all that I had left behind in West Virginia, I heard a battalion of soldiers singing cadence – the sound was ominous and became louder and louder as the soldiers drew closer.

About the time the soldiers came into view, the entire battalion starting singing “Country Roads.” To me, the words echoed like there were a thousand voices. It was as though God had sent this song to match my thoughts that day – and what better group of people to sing “Country Roads” than a group of soldiers! At that moment, “almost heaven, West Virginia” took on a whole new meaning for me.

There is never a time I hear “Country Roads” that it doesn’t bring teardrops in my eye. My family and I sang “Country Roads” in Phoenix after our Fiesta Bowl win – that was pretty sweet also – and look forward to singing it many times this upcoming football season!! GO MOUNTAINEERS!

Rhonda Underwood
Parent of WVU students Josh and Jared Underwood
Beckley, WV

I was born and raised in West Virginia and am very passionate about my home state. West Virginians are special people, no matter where I go if I happen to meet up with people from WV I see the same honor and respect in them that I feel as a Mountaineer. I feel people from West Virginia are bonded together through struggles we have faced living in a state that is criticized a lot and not given recognition we deserve. West Virginia is a beautiful state and I swell with pride when I tell someone where I’m from, and I hear them say “Oh that is a beautiful state.”

My favorite childhood memories are traveling the state with my family on vacations; we didn’t need to go outside the state because everything we enjoyed was there. I moved to North Carolina in 1993 when I married and when I’m ask where I live I always say “I live in North Carolina, but my home is West Virginia.” Country Roads is a song dear to my heart. It makes me think of all the beauty there is in WV, the winding roads through the mountains may take a while to travel but the scenery is worth every mile. No matter where I am and hear that song, it brings tears to my eyes. The sense of loyalty is very strong for our state and all true Mountaineers. To me, WVU symbolizes our state, and what it stands for. I have two nephews at WVU, and I travel from North Carolina to Morgantown for home games. When I started coming to the football games regularly I did not know after each game “Country Roads” was played, and the first time I had this experience I could not even sing along for crying. It’s definitely a heartfelt emotion. Now I look forward to singing along after every game – no way am I leaving early. The game isn’t over until the crowd wails out “Country Roads”. “LET’S GO MOUNTAINEERS”!

In May of 2007 I traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with my sister Stacey (I let her travel with me even though she is a Marshall alumna), and my mother, Helen. We were attending the International World Forum on Early Care and Education. After a very long flight (27 hours), we arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the middle of the night. A very friendly Malaysian taxi driver offered to take us to our hotel. After we were settled in the taxi for the 30-minute ride to our hotel he asked the usual question, “Where in the US are you from?” We answered, “West Virginia.” Before the words were out of our mouth, he broke into song, “Almost heaven, West Virginia..Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River…” We were amazed. But, he was not the only one. Everyone in Kuala Lumpur knew West Virginia and the song they thought “Glen Campbell” sang!

Sarah J. Brown
WVU Student

In October, 2001, my wife and I traveled to Australia for two weeks. After touring the Northern Territory and part of the east coast, we made our way back to Syndey for a couple days. On the next to last night of our vacation, we went out in The Rocks area to have some dinner and beverages.

After dinner we spotted a place across the street that had a sign proclaiming “live music” so we thought it would be interesting to hear some local musician playing Australian music. As we walked into the bar the musician was just getting ready. After flying 18 hours and 15,000 miles from home the first song the guys plays is “Country Roads!” I couldn’t believe it!

Recently, I traveled to Nassau. The band by the pool was playing a calypso version of “Country Roads.” They must have played it five times while I was there. It was a very interesting rendition I must say!

It just goes to show that you can go as far away from West Virginia as you want, but when that song plays you are home.

James T. Strother Jr.
‘93 BS, ‘94 MS

After reading of your request for people to submit their “Oddest” experiences hearing our theme song, I felt compelled to write about an experience that I have been telling for 25 years.

In October of 1982, my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are located off of the coast of Morocco in Northern Africa. Tenerife seemed far removed from Morgantown, WV, and, actually in some respects, far removed from civilization as I knew it. We only encountered one other person from the US during the 18 days that we were there. One night, we went out to some nightclubs with an English couple that we met. Late in the evening, or should I say early in the morning, about 2:00 am, we went into our final establishment before we were to head back to the hotel. When we walked into the club, the juke box was blaring out the unmistakable voice of John Denver urging the Spanish inhabitants of this small, remote island to appreciate the beauty of his “Mountain Mamma” and take him home to West Virginia. It was absolutely surreal. I totally expected Rod Serling to pop out from behind the bar to inform me that I was in an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” Between broken Spanish and fractured English, I convinced the patrons, with the help of my driver’s license, that indeed my husband and I were from West Virginia. They loved it. The song played continuously from then on. The locals were curious that we were from this mythical place and then proceeded to ask if we knew their relatives from other places in the US such as Denver, Miami, etc. Little did they know how far removed Almost Heaven, West Virginia is from those places as well.

I thought that this story might fit the bill as and odd, crazy and favorite place to hear the song

Michelle “Mickey” Crowe Wnek
Class of 1982

Every year since my dad was a young child my family has vacationed in eastern Ontario, Canada, to do a little fishing on the Upper Rideau Lake. We normally don’t stray far from camp in the evening, but a couple of years ago we noticed the sign at the one bar in town that read “Karaoke night” and decided to check it out. After a few Canadian lagers we noticed that “Country Roads” was on the song list and we couldn’t resist. After our rendition, several of the locals joined us at the bar, and asked why we chose the song. We were surprised to hear that they love the song and they thanked us for requesting and singing it!

Not long after that, some Americans visiting from other states sought us out to express their accord. In all the years we had been visiting the area, I had never felt so welcome!

Kelly Mayhew, Morgantown, WV
BS 1995, JD 2005

When my daughter was in high school, the Elkins High School Band was invited to be in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in NYC.

While waiting to board the ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty, there were several street entertainers playing for the crowd and collecting money. When a steel drum player from Trinidad heard our large group was from West Virginia, he began playing “Country Road” on his steel drum.

It was nice hearing “our song” from a man from the islands!

Dr. Mary Boyd
WVU School of Medicine, Class of l979

As I sat down to read my latest issue of WVU Alumni magazine, I was instantly pulled in by the title of your article. I decided I had to write and share my favorite memories of this song.

Although I have heard “Country Roads” more times than I can count, most times I get a little teary eyed and I always feel a sense of pride in my heart. Pride, not only for the state I grew up in, but also pride for the university that I love.

I have to say that I have many favorite memories of this song, including hearing it at home football games, hearing Brad Paisley play it live at Jamboree in the Hills, dancing around the kitchen with my three-year-old daughter, Delaney, as this song becomes one of her favorites, and listening to Owen Schmitt’s interview after the Fiesta Bowl as “Country Roads” began to play in the background.

These are all very memorable to me, but my favorite memory of this song was from my wedding. My DJ decided to surprise me by making this the last song at my 2000 wedding to Sean O’Connell(not a WVU alumnus, but I still love him). As all of our family and friends joined hands and formed a circle around us, my new husband and I danced to those famous words “Country Roads, take me home to, the place I belong.” It was the perfect ending to a perfect day, and although I would be moving to Ohio (away from the Mountain State for the first time ever), I knew that those lyrics would always take me back and fill my heart with sense of home.

Thank you for letting me share my love for this very memorable song.

Sincerely,
Missy Taylor O’Connell
Class of 1997

In October 2005, a group of Kappa Sigma fraternity alumni & spouses from the late 60s were in Rome. On our 1st afternoon, while sitting in a small restaurant, the owner learned we were from West Virginia. he immediately brought out his guitar & began playing “Almost Heaven, West Virginia…”

The group included Gene & Reida Zappa; Tom & Bonnie Martin; Jim & Gloria Blandina; Steve & Teresa Ostendorf; Phil & Carol Gaujot; and Larry Martino & Kenny Codeluppi.
A week later when WVU beat Louisville, 46-44, the group walked the streets of Rome singing it again.

Steve Ostendorf

Just reading your piece about John Denver and “Country Roads.”

My husband is from Richie County, and he and I met when we were both in grad school in the biology dept. at WVU in 1972. We married two years later in Dec of 1974, and we used John Denver’s song “Annie’s Song” at our wedding.

We have three sons and though they were raised in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, West Virginia was a big part of their upbringing.

Our youngest son, Alan, studied abroad in London for a semester while in college in 2004. He was on spring break there and backpacking through much of Europe. He was having a fun time in a beer garden in Munich, Germany, with a bunch of new friends he had recently made there. There was a German band, all dressed in German traditional garb, playing lots of songs for entertainment and all of a sudden our son heard the familiar strains of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” He immediately jumped out of his chair and started singing and dancing a one man show!! His new friends thought he was nuts until he explained to them the IMPORTANCE of that special tune. He was flashing WVs all over the beer hall. We have a picture of the event.

To this day, we wonder how and why those musicians in a German Beer Hall would come up with playing THE TUNE…...

It was a highlight moment of our son’s study abroad and a fun memory for us too.

Fran and Bob Fleming
Class of 1974.

I went to a Pitt basketball game around Christmas time about two years ago at the Peterson Event Center. After the game, I was heading back to the car, and there was a guy out of the street playing Christmas carols on his saxophone. He was looking for contributions. I had worn a WVU sweatshirt
to the game, and as soon as he saw me approaching he began to play “Country Roads ” on his saxophone. It was great.

Harry Strauser
BSN 1992

My “Country Roads” story is set in Southeast Asia. While traveling in Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand in 2000, I unexpectedly and pleasantly experienced the international connectivity of John Denver’s “Country Roads”.

Shortly after arriving in Rangoon (Yangon), I was attending a farewell dinner party for a close friend who was the departing American Defense Attaché. As I approached the reception area in the hotel, I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I was hearing “Country Roads” being belted out by a Burmese Rock Band. After they finished their set of songs, I approached them to tell them they did a good job with “Country Roads” and that I was from West Virginia of “Country Roads” fame. They smiled as I approached, but were puzzled when I began to speak. You guessed it; they knew the words to “Country Roads” and many other songs but couldn’t understand English. I began to sing the chorus and they became very animated and began their rendition. As I recall, there was unanimous celebration by the representatives of nearly a dozen Southeast Asian countries. The trio belted out “Country Roads” several times throughout the evening with everyone joining in with their individual accents and smiles.

My recognition of “Country Roads” as the international goodwill song was reinforced almost daily. “Country Roads” seemed to be played and sung everywhere I went. This song was being enjoyed from the loud Karaoke Bars in the cities to the tiny jungle huts with battery operated tape players.

I began to experiment with this newly discovered IGS, International Goodwill Song. As I walked around Mandalay, Rangoon and even in Bangkok, Thailand, I would whistle, sing or hum a few bars of “Country Roads.” Every time people heard me it evoked wide smiles, nods of approval and the occasional thumbs up. That was really cool.

Steve Hite
WVU ‘70

I was on a city bus in Brisbane, and we were waiting for another bus to bring us additional passengers.The bus driver went up and down the aisles, asking everyone where they were from. Most of the people on the bus were from Australia and other countries. I was sitting in the first row, and when he got to me, I said, “West Virginia.” Everyone on the bus started singing “Country Roads.” It was amazing to hear this!

Andrea Anderson, MA 1981
Weirton, W.Va.

I am from a large town near Philadelphia and graduated from WVU in 1980. My experience was different from most alumni because I got married my senior year to a wonderful man who is a native of West Virginia and was also a senior. It was very difficult for us with a new baby, but being young and in love you just roll with the punches.

We took our baby Jeremy with us everywhere—from football games to the Coliseum when we were working out. I was a psychology major so I even took him to classes with me. I will never forget those times and how wonderful I felt.

Moving ahead a few years, Jeremy attended WVU in the middle of the first and second Iraq conflicts. He was in the reserves, so he was constantly being activated and his base was in Pennsylvania, so he did not finish at WVU. But even though his father and I had been divorced for many years, he and his younger brother went to the backyard brawl and knew everything about my wonderful memories. Jeremy even got to see John Denver sing “Take me home Country Roads” with his dad at the new stadium opening. I was so jealous.

In October 2007, Jeremy Cross married Sarah Lavelle (from Mass.) with all the Pa., Mass., and West Virginia relatives there to wish the happy couple happiness. At the reception, we all gathered in a circle, ex-husbands, ex-wives, stepkids, ex- in-laws, in-laws…and at the top of our lungs sang “Country Roads.” I was hugging my beautiful son who is now 29 and looking at his father and remembering my years at WVU when emotion just filled my soul. I was so lucky to have met someone that loved his state as much as Steve does and shared its beauty with his boys. That moment with all of us linked together, arm in arm, will stay with me forever. Everything else just melted away. The people that were not in the circle were in awe of the emotion in the room. I think the DJ even got a little teary eyed.

Jeremy and Sarah will have children someday soon, and I am sure that the first place they will go is a Mountaineer game. Let’s Go Mountaineers!

Sandi Novielli
Class Of 1980

It would be impossible to write about every time the playing of “Country Roads” has evoked goose bumps or tears. However, one particularly memorable time was January 2006 in Atlanta, Ga. As my friends and I were roaming the streets a few blocks from the Georgia Dome before the Sugar Bowl, an open air bar played “Country Roads” on its sound system.

Mountaineer fans up and down the street loudly joined in singing verse and chorus. The near unanimous singing in unison by the hundreds of WVU fans was amazing. Georgia fans were shaking their heads in amazement at the exuberance of the WVU fans. I felt sorry for the UGA fans a few minutes later when the same open air bar then played the Ray Charles rendition of Georgia. The Georgia fans meekly tried to sing along with the low key rendition of that song. It was hardly a song to get their blood pumping in the way that “Country Roads” sent the Mountaineer fans into a state of euphoria, that was only exceeded by the feeling of singing the same song at the conclusion of that amazing football game.

John D. Hoffman

I just returned from a business trip to Bangkok, Thailand and found your article in the latest WVU Alumni Magazine.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself alone in Bangkok, Thailand, longing for home. I asked around and someone mentioned a bar on Soi Cowboy called “Country Road.” With a name like that I HAD to go. I parked myself on a stool outside and ordered a beer. As I was sipping my beer I realized that there was a live band playing. I peered in and spotted the band which consisted of five long-haired Thai men playing Country/Western cover songs. I returned to my beer when, suddenly, I noticed that the band had begun playing a familiar song, “Almost heaven, West Virginia,” albeit with thick Thai accents. After I lifted my jaw from the floor, I began singing along. There was an American expatriate sitting nearby, and he smiled when he heard me joining in. I told him that I’m a graduate of West Virginia University and that this is EXACTLY what I needed at this very moment. He explained to me that every band that plays at Country Road is required to learn the song. I wish I could tell you that the bar owner was a WVU alumnus (he’s not; he’s a Thai singer who loves Country/Western music) or that the American was a WVU alumnus (he’s not; he’s a Nittany from Southwestern, PA) but, perhaps, that’s what made the experience that much more surreal and special.

Dr. Steven Tunick
BA in psychology, 1998
Fairfax, VA

I traveled quite a bit last year and ironically, two of my favorite recollections of my travels involve hearing the song “Country Roads” overseas!

In February 2007, my cousin and I traveled to Europe (England, France, Spain). While getting off of the subway system in Paris, France, I was riding down the escalator and saw a street musician standing at the bottom of the escalator and he started to play “Country Roads” on his guitar!! I looked at my cousin and said, “Wait!! We have to stop and listen!” I was so excited when I heard the song!! So we got off of the escalator, and I stood there singing with the street musician, every single word of “Country Roads!” When he was done, I clapped and smiled, thanked him, and placed a several euros in his guitar case. I couldn’t believe that I was just standing in front of a street musician in Paris, France singing “Country Roads!” Then I turned to my cousin and said, “I was meant to be right here….right at this very moment!!”

My second story involves my trip to Ireland in November 2007. My WVU college friend, Catherine Reavey Lane (B.A. Psychology – ‘94) and I traveled to Ireland over Thanksgiving just for a fun, six-day getaway! As we were walking down the streets of Dublin, Ireland, we walked past this little Irish pub, when suddenly, we heard “Country Roads!” She grabbed my arm, and we raced into the pub…..ran straight up to the two guitarists, and loudly sang the lyrics to the song! For that brief moment, in Dublin, Ireland….those two guitarists had “taken us home” to our days at West Virginia University!! Once again, I believe it was meant to be that we happened to be walking down the streets of Dublin at that very moment!

Laurel R. Harry
BA – Psychology ‘94
MA – Counseling ‘96

We were in London on New Year’s Day, 1989, heading to a science conference in Birmingham when the flight was canceled due to fog. We decided to get an all day pass on the underground and get out at every stop. As we ascended the stairs on the first stop, street singers were singing “Take Me Home Country Roads.” Needless to say the rest of the day had a high note as we were reminded of our roots.

Dr. Michael J. Demchik (1963,1973) and
Dr. Virginia C. Demchik (1969, 1986)

Thank you for your article about “Country Roads”. It truly defines a WVU alum (or I imagine a native West Virginian), when upon hearing it, one at least gets goose bumps. I have two brief stories to share. One took place in Morgantown and one on an airplane…

It was October 21, 2000, and it was the only time Notre Dame had ever traveled to the Mountain State for a football game. I made plans to go to the game with another WVU alum, my friend Patrick, because we had to try to even the score from the heartbreak of 1989.

Having graduated in 1980, it had been 11 years since I had been at Mountaineer Field or even in Morgantown and the excitement of being back gave us both chills. We entered the stadium and found our seats early so as not to miss any of the band. As many of our fellow alums from the Cignetti era will attest, our primary reason for attending games at old Mountaineer Field downtown was to watch and hear the Pride of West Virginia, and we didn’t want to miss them on this day. As the band played through its traditional Copeland warm up, I was unexpectedly and uncontrollably brought to tears, so moving was the experience! The game was less than we had hoped for despite a thrilling near comeback engineered by a future Maryland transfer who would have great success against the Mountaineers later in his career, but the means justified the end as we all stayed for the playing of “Country Roads” which meant everything. You may beat us on the football field, but we are still all Mountaineers who share a love of the state and the school that nobody from outside our circle can understand.

More recently, I discovered a different rendition of the song that at first had me crying sacrilege, but later made me appreciate the song even more for its impact on the world outside West By God Virginia. A little known artist from Hawaii, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole(or IZ, as he was otherwise known) produced a cover of John Denver’s masterpiece on his 1993 release “Facing Future” on which his most famous work, a medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World first appeared. That song became familiar to the world as the background to an e-toys commercial in 2000-01 as well as being played over the closing credits of “Meet Joe Black”. I bought the CD for my daughter who loved that song, not knowing he had done his own version of “Country Roads” on the same album. I first heard it as I was listening to the rest of the album while on a plane. I was at first outraged that anyone could take our song and change the words and sound, but I listened a few more times and discovered that the song itself is timeless and placeless which is why it was so easy for us to adopt as ours. We all want someone or something to “Take Us Home” sometimes whether it refers to returning to our roots or getting away from work or even meeting our maker. “Country Roads” has an ethereal feel whether we are talking about West Makaha and Mount Kalala or West Virginia and mountain mamas. John Denver was a genius. Go Mountaineers!

Sincerely a Mountaineer Forever,

Ken Bell
BFA ‘80

Having read your article about Country Roads stories – here is one I’d like to share.

It was in Sept. 2002, and I was traveling to Munich Germany for work. Oktoberfest had just started that week, and I had never been to Oktoberfest before, so some of my work colleagues took me there for an evening of festivities – and of course some beer. Our first stop along the way was the Löwenbräu festhalle tent. We were not more than halfway through the front door when I heard “Country Roads” being sung by all – it was really something to see and hear all of those people (over 5,000) singing and dancing. It was almost as if they had all been to a football game or two in Morgantown. Young and old from all different countries were singing. The band played “Country Roads” throughout the evening at different times, with the same raucous result.

It appears “Country Roads” is a staple during Oktoberfest, and many more Mountaineer fans may share this same story. For an audio clip, see the attached, or you can search for “Oktoberfest Country Roads” on the internet.

http://www.theoktoberfest.com/HTML/index.html

Prost!

Doug Tallamy BSME 1990

I enjoyed your article, subject above, in the WVU Alumni magazine.

From October 1968 to August 1972 I was serving the US Air Force at Grand Forks, North Dakota. In my early days of marriage, I had a habit of turning the radio on a sleep timer to listen to music as I drifted off to sleep.

One night as I became drowsy and almost dropped off to sleep, I heard the words: “Almost Heaven West Virginia.” I was instantly awake and listened intently to ensure that I was hearing correctly. I could hardly believe my ears. I was 1400 miles from home and so homesick
for the green hills of West Virginia and the “country roads”. How refreshing it was to hear John Denver’s words that far from home.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my story.

May God bless you…

Rev. Barry M. Adkins
Class of 1976
Bruceton Mills, W.Va.

As soon as I saw the article requesting crazy, odd or favorite place I’ve heard this song, I immediately knew I had to write to you…

My wife and I were on our honeymoon in Bali last July. We were nearing the end of our two-week stay in the most beautiful place we have ever seen (outside of Morgantown,of course). We were having a sunset dinner on the beach in Jimbaran Bay. Our restaurant was just one of about 15 or so in a row – and all of these restaurants have seating on the beach…it’s quite a lovely setting for a sunset dinner.

All of a sudden, in the distance, I heard it…could it be? No, c’mon…is it…oh my gosh…it’s Country Roads!!! But wait a second…we’re in BALI! In Indonesia! How could this be??! Is this even possible? As it turns out yes…it was possible. There was a group of four Balinese musicians wandering around, going from table to table, taking requests from the diners. I almost had a heart attack when I heard it – and of course, I had to take a picture…it just wouldn’t be complete without a picture.

Turns out, my wife (who has spent a considerable amount of time in Germany) tells me that Germans LOVE this song, and they sing it constantly during Oktoberfest. And Germans travel quite frequently to Bali – and it turns out there were some John Denver, mountain mama, thank god I’m a country boy fans right there on the beach in Bali.

Not that my honeymoon was lacking in memorable moments, but this one was very special indeed.

I can’t wait to read about the other amazing Country Roads stories…and I’m sure you will get a kick out of reading all the submissions you get…enjoy :)

Douglas Doble
Class of 1996

What does the song mean to me? It is a tribute to the state. Everyone likes to poke fun at West Virginia, but it is truly a beautiful place to live. I’ve lived in West Virginia since I graduated high school. I love it here and I’ll retire here.

Craziest, oddest, and I must say favorite place I’ve heard the song? In 2006, my daughter and I were on a two-week tour of Italy. We were in Florence and went to dinner just outside the city for an authentic Tuscan Dinner. The evening entertainment was a married couple; she played the keyboards and he played the guitar. They spoke very little English and performed mostly Italian songs like “That’s Amore”, “Volare”, and “My Way.” Near the end of the evening, they performed “Country Roads.” There were many Americans in the restaurant, and I was looking around and many people (including my daughter and I) were singing along. We were almost in tears.

Thanks,
Joe Berardinelli
1982 Chemical Engineering Class
New Martinsville, W.Va.

I loved WVU the minute I stepped foot on campus in August 1975. And I treasured the drives to Morgantown from home. A central Pennsylvania girl, I was no stranger to mountains. But, as we all know, West Virginia Mountains are unique. They are an intoxicatingly relaxing tonic. I sighed with contentment when the “Almost Heaven West Virginia” sign came into view. West Virginia’s mountains hug you, welcome you, and take you into their home. They make you feel happy and secure.

So during football season when the Mountaineer Marching Band formed the state and played John Denver’s “Country Roads,” I was on board. The warm snuggly feelings associated with the song were deeply imprinted on my heart.

It was in the summer of 1977 that I happily went to Myrtle Beach, a popular WVU spot, to work for the summer. I was familiar only with the Jersey shore, so Myrtle Beach in 1977 seemed desolate, tropic and exotic. Palm trees dotted the beach landscape and grass huts welcomed tourists with fancy umbrella drinks. A group of us from WVU went to one of those tropical theme night clubs one night. As I recall it was a sea of Hawaiian shirts and red, sunburned cheeks. The singer, a guitar strumming, harmonica laden Jimmy Buffet clone, belted out ” . . . Take me home country roads, to the place I belong, West Virginia, mountain mama . . ..” Of course, we went crazy singing along and reveling in a little piece of WVU in the tropics. I’ll never forget it.

Christine Bucher Blair
School of Journalism, Class of 1979

It was 1980 and I was just finishing up my MLS at CW Post College on Long Island and was sending out info to job openings all over the Northeast. One of the first positive replies received was from the director of the (then) Parkersburg Community College Learning Resources Center saying he would like to meet with me at his hotel near JFK airport. We had a productive visit and he said he would get back to me. Some days later he called and offered the job and gave me some time to think it over. I had a wife and young child and we were living with my mother at the time. I certainly wanted a job but had never been to West Virginia and it was a tad far from family and friends, so I did want to be very sure about the move and my first professional library position.

On a quick trip to New Hampshire to visit my cousin before decision time, what comes on the radio? “Country Roads,” of course! I made my mind up. We had four wild, wonderful years in West Virginia.

Another John Denver song story. Eight years earlier, first time out West, and with the cousin mentioned above, traveling by car to Colorado, what’s that in the distance? Weather on the horizon? “Rocky Mountain High” comes on the radio and we realize we’re looking at Pike’s Peak poking through the clouds!

And, yes, I just had to put JD on my computer’s CD player as I write this. Good memories all!

Carl Cording
Albany, NY 12203

I saw the “Country Roads” story in the Alumni Magazine and thought I would share my story with you.

Between my junior and senior years at WVU, I spent a month in Trinidad doing a summer research project through the biology department. It was the first time I’d visited another country, so it was quite a cultural experience. I had so much fun, but everything was different – different foods, different people, different traffic rules! By the end of the month, I was admittedly a little homesick (I’m originally from Morgantown). The day before I returned home, I was listening to a radio station that was playing all local “Trini” music, and what song happened to come on out of the blue? Country Roads! “The radio reminds me of my home far away… driving down the road I get the feeling that I should’ve been home yesterday… yesterday…”. All of a sudden, even thousands of miles from Morgantown, I wasn’t so far from home after all.

Thanks for your article, it recalled a fond memory!

Caroline Cremer Sweedo
BA 1997

A fellow WVU alumnae Alice Shaver Behr (BS ‘54) and I spent a month in China the fall of 2005. As our group traveled across the country from Shanghai to Lhasa we were approached by young people who wanted to practice their English. When we would reply to where we were from the individuals from other states got very little reaction. When Alice and I would reply “West Virginia”, we got a big smile as a response several times along with a rendition of “Country Roads”. I think the time it surprised me the most was in Lhasa, Tibet.

Lenore Hamilton Hinkle, BS ‘54.

This is a small story, but here goes:

A few years ago, I was in Hungary and Transylvania (now part of Romania) with a convivial group of travelers. In a basement tavern where we had eaten and drank a bit much, someone suggested we sing songs about our states and soon “Country Roads” was being sung. I was the only person in the group with any ties to West Virginia.

Though my ties are deep and I graduated from WVU in ‘61, I was not especially fond of the song (I am a bit too compulsive about accuracy I guess.) Nevertheless I was enjoying the moment. Then I noticed a young blond woman of Transylvanian origin (now living in Hungary) crying tears of nostalgia. I was dry-eyed and a bit puzzled. She
explained that for her, it was a camp song with lyrics rewritten about the beautiful countryside of her native home. Who knew that Transylvania was “almost heaven.” Actually it is hilly and beautiful and her tears moved me to tears as I recalled many 4-H campfires in West Virginia, rich with the songs I loved (long before John Denver).

Diane Gutman, BS ‘61
Portland, Oregon 97202

I was so excited to read your story about “Country Roads.” Here is our story.

My husband Howard (a native of Wheeling) and I graduated from WVU in 1967. We now live in New York. This past summer was our 40th wedding anniversary. Our daughters surprised us with wonderful entertainment at our anniversary party. They rehearsed for weeks to sing many of our favorite songs and thought “Country Roads” should be included. Our three-year-old grandson Aron heard the song many times as they rehearsed and adopted it as his favorite song. We hear him singing it through the monitor when he is going to sleep, when he awakes in the morning and various times during the day. He sings it perfectly in tune and with all of the words, to anyone who will listen! It is now more than 10 months after our party and he is still singing the song!

Hope you enjoy our story.

Sincerely,

Susan Heffler Edelman ‘67

My wife and I heard an astonishing version of”Country Roads” in the jungle of the Peruvian Amazon in March. Arriving by jet into Iquitos, we traveled down river on the Amazon Queen and took up residence the following evening at Explorama Lodge on the banks of the Amazon. After dinner, the Peruvian guides picked up guitars and entertained the crowd with spirited songs in Spanish. We had by then learned that four of us in our group of 44 were WVU graduates, although we now lived in Washington State and in Massachusetts.

With plans to go out on the river bird watching at 6 AM the next morning, my wife and I headed down the corridor to our room at about 10 and crawled under our mosquito netting. An hour later, I was still wide awake and progressively more annoyed at the loud singing and laughter still coming from the dining hall. Just when I was mustering the courage to go back and berate the late revelers for being so inconsiderate, the singers shifted into a delightful rendition of “Country Roads”, in English, with the correct guitar chords. Needless to say, I kept my mouth shut and let them go on singing. I am still surprised by our discovery that this song is loved even in the remote Amazon jungle.

Mark Valentine, PreMed, ‘70
E. Michelle Monezis Valentine, Pharmacy, ‘72

In late 2006, I had the opportunity through my company, Marshall Miller & Associates, to travel to Urumqi, China, to conduct testing to evaluate the viability of methane production from the massive coal seams in the region.

After a two long weeks in the frozen tundra of northern China, I was eager to return home for the end of the Christmas season. The trip home included a stop in Beijing with the primary intent of visiting the Pearl Market for last minute Christmas gifts and a sightseeing stop at Tiananmen Square. After checking into fine accommodations at the Intercontinental Hotel, my Chinese counterpart, Dr. Ma, and I met in the hotel lounge for a late evening snack, which I was happy to see included the option of an “American Cheeseburger and fries.” The lounge had an excellent Chinese cover band that was playing a variety of tunes ranging from Chinese pop to the Carpenters and Led Zeppelin. As he was overly accommodating for the entire trip, and the only person that I conversed with in English for two weeks, Dr. Ma asked me for the name of my favorite song. As any West Virginian will attest, when faced with extreme geographic separation from the home land, the only valid response to that question is “Country Roads”, upon which he raced to the stage with extensive instruction to the band leader acknowledged by nods and grins. After a short meeting of the minds of the band members, they turned around with smiles that John Denver would have been proud of, and launched into the most memorable rendition of the song (save the Syracuse undefeated game) in my long memory.

Andrew Waggener
Geology, Class of 1983

The best place I’ve heard “Country Roads” was when I was living in Aarhus, Denmark. It was my last day of living in the country, so I traveled to Copenhagen for my flight out the next day. I was in the middle of town on a walking only street doing some last minute shopping and when I came out of the store I almost died. There, in the middle of the streets in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a quartet singing “Country Roads.” I stopped, obviously, and sang along. What a terrific feeling! There really is no place like WV!!

Regards,

Vicki Staley
Hazleton, PA

Once when I was vacationing in the Bahamas, a cab driver asked me where I was from. When I replied, “West Virginia,” he serenaded me with “Country Roads”. I was so happy.

Mary Barnes

I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from
87-89. I was stationed way up north in the mountains and
everyone wanted to hear “Country Roads.” They didn’t have electricity or running water. They spent their days planting and picking rice and their evenings drinking gin and playing guitar. I had to play that song nearly every night. When I went south I had to play it too. Every bar with a band or folksinger also played Country Roads. You ain’t heard nothing until you’ve heard a Filipino country band playing Country Roads.

Owen Davis, ‘82

I joined my husband on a business trip to Spain and Germany last spring. As a treat, we decided to spend the weekend in Mallorca between the two business destinations. While walking home from dinner, we decided to stop by a small pub who had a band. They played a lot of American music. My husband asked if they knew “Country Roads” and they did! We danced and sang along. I sent my parents a text saying we were dancing to “Country Roads,” and by chance they had been at the WVU basketball game that day listening to the same thing. I still have the message from my dad dated 3/3/07.

Susan Szabo Bergman
BSME – WVU 1997

I spent two weeks in the African bush in Kwa Zulu Natal Province, South Africa. During that time, I had no communication with the “outside world.” While driving into the village of Hluhluwe, near the Mozambique border, the radio began playing “Country Roads.” It was music to my ears. Of course, I had to sing along, much to the dismay of my South African counterpart(you would understand if you heard my voice). I explained to him the pride of being a Mountaineer. I presented Rory and his wife Tara with West Virginia University jackets and their three-year-old daughter does a very good rendition of “Lets go Mountaineers.”

Cheers.

Soren Sofhauser
Granger, IN
1979

In June 2007, my husband made a trip to Europe. Our first night in the Czech Republic, our tour group went to a local tavern and were entertained by an accordian player. We were pleasantly surprised when we heard him playing “Country Roads” with no prompting. The next night, our group had dinner at a small local restaurant and were entertained by a Czech man playing a keyboard, violin and trumpet. We asked if he could play “Country Roads” and he complied. At a wine country dinner in Vienna, Austria, we were entertained by a man with a bass guitar who was excepting contributions for requests. Of course, we asked him if he could play “Country Roads”. He nodded affirmatively as we gave him a token of appreciation. Unfortunately, he played ” The Tennessee Waltz.” Oh well – right country, wrong state.

Annette Mann, BORBA ‘88
Patrick Mann Professor Emeritus, WVU College of Business & Economics

I graduated from WVU in 1962 with a BSJ and then attended graduate school for a short period. I was offered a job with 3M Company and moved to Minneapolis. Later, I moved to New York City and then on to Denver in the late 60s.

“Country Roads” was John Denver’s first big hit. In between his early singing jobs he worked at the Denver Airport for a private aircraft company, Coombs Aircraft. His main duty was pumping gas for private airplanes. The company was owned by Harry Coombs and along with John Harry’s son Tony was employed in a similar position.
This company later became Gates Aircraft and Learjet. As you are no doubt aware, John was crazy about airplanes and loved to fly.

Shortly after John Denver’s success with “Country Roads” he went on a country-wide night club tour. One of the clubs he played at was “Marvelous Marv’s”, a small intimate club located in downtown Denver.

When I heard that he was going to play in downtown Denver, I called and made a reservation for my wife and myself. When we arrived at Marvelous Marv’s and were being directed to our table, I heard my name called out. I looked in that direction and saw Tony Coombs was sitting up front at a table by himself. He beckoned us over and suggested we join him at his table since he was alone.

Marvelous Marv’s was a very small club and soon John Denver came out and began his show. He sang several songs and then “Country Roads.” After a few more songs he announced he was taking a short break. At that point he came over and joined us at Tony’s table. Tony introduced us to John and explained that they pumped gas together at his dad’s Air Service Company.

We chatted for a while with John and then I felt I just had to ask him a question. I turned to him and asked, “John, the song ‘Country Roads’ is such a great song about West Virginia! What do you think of West Virginia?” John replied “I have never been there.” He explained that he did not write the lyrics to the song that it was written by a couple that were friends of his.

I have been an import consultant for more than 35 years and I travel frequently to China. “Country Roads” is one of the most popular songs with the Chinese and is played often. Not many Chinese have even the slightest idea where West Virginia is located, but they know every word to the song.

Bill Keller, ‘60
Parker, CO

I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Country Roads. I was a 20-year Navy Hospital Corpsman serving with the Third Marine Division on Okinawa in 1971. After a year, I was preparing to come back to the states to my wife and new baby boy. It is as if that song was written just for me! I often tell that story and I too still get “goose bumps” every time I hear it. I graduated from WVU in 1976. I retired from the Navy in 1989 and am with an Anesthesia group in Orange Park, Florida. Thank you for allowing me to tell my story.

John R. Dunlap LCDR, USN, RET.

Our youngest son decided to get married in Nepal to a Tibetan girl. It was a part of the world that neither my wife or I had ever been; so we decide to go over and attend the wedding.

This occurred in June of 2001. The very night that we had arrived, the crown prince killed his father the King and his entire family. Needless to say, the country is very poor (land locked), and became quite unstable. The country began having curfews at random times. We stayed only four days and left after the wedding. On one of these days, we went for a walk in the market area, and the song we heard coming out of one of the shops was “Country Roads.” It was very settling to us, since it relieved some of the stress we had; since everything in our environment was strange, it had a calming effect. We ask our new daughter-in-law if she had heard the song. She said it was a Tibetan favorite in Nepal, even though it was in English and the Tibetan people could not understand all the words, they liked the music.

My wife and I were both born and raised in West Virginia, graduated from Elkins High School, and attended WVU. We have lived in Northern Virginia for 40 years, but we still consider West Virginia home and go back there as often as we can. Our four children were all raised in this area. When we would return to see the grandparents in WV, all of us would burst out singing the “Country Roads” once we crossed into WV on Rt 55.

Allen Duckworth

My niece got married in June 2006. At the reception, the DJ played “Country Roads.” Since both the bride and groom are from WV, we all linked arms and swayed back and forth while we belted out the song along with John Denver. It was great!

Later that same summer, my nephew got married at Cape Cod, the hometown of his bride. At the reception, someone asked the DJ to play “Country Roads.” I think they had to dig a little but they finally found it and played it. All of us WV folk promptly linked arms, swayed and sang at the top of our little WV lungs! The bride’s family just stood back and watched. I’m not sure what they were thinking, but they definitely didn’t know the song like we did! They say once a West Virginian, always a West Virginian, and I think it’s true.

My niece and nephew both graduated from WVU, as did I. That song has real meaning to us and it always will, just like WVU.

Lea Ann Barnes, BS ‘88
Clarksburg, WV

I was born in Morgantown and raised in Star City. I graduated from WVU in 1978. In the summer of 1998 I had the pleasure of visiting Slovenia (part of the former Yugoslavia) with my partner, Philip Clapperton. My paternal grandparents were born in this lovely country whose geography is quite similar to West Virginia’s. I visited the small towns where my grandparents were born and, spent a significant part of the trip in Bled – a resort location on an incredibly pristine lake. Surrounding the lake are numerous outdoor cafes and restaurants. One evening Philip and I sat on the terrace of one of these restaurants enjoying our meal and some wine as we listened to a band play what I would call traditional Slovenian folk songs. Suddenly a more familiar tune emerged. We looked up – stunned – and realized it was “Country Roads.” We sang along, laughed, and cried all at the same time. It was such a full-circle experience. To be in that location, toasting my grandparents, feeling that I belonged – then KNOWING I belonged hearing “Country Roads” – was a truly unforgettable experience.

Philip and I (with four other members of my family) are season ticket holders to WVU football games. When we hear “Country Roads” at the end of each game we are reminded of that time ten years ago and how the song helped us feel so much at home in a country so far away.

Rudy J. Gallon
Washington, D.C.
Class of 1978

This is in reference to the “Country Roads” story in the alumni magazine. Here is the strangest place I’ve heard the song.

So I was on my way to Melbourne, Australia for a semester abroad while a student at WVU. I had a mandatory layover in Fiji (I know, it’s rough) and decided to take a day trip to a deserted island to relax. The clear, blue water and white sand beaches reminded me I was about as far away from PRTs and pepperoni rolls as one could get.

I’d just finished snorkling and sat down to listen to a local Fijian band play some native tunes. But to my surprise, they belted out a familiar one. “Country Roads” had bridged the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Needless to
say, the had never met anyone from the great state of
West Virginia but the song was a favorite.

Jonah Jabbour
Class of 2003, Broadcast News

The most memorable place I ever heard “Country Roads” was on the steps of the Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. At the time, my fiance, now husband of 35 years, Larry Border, (WVU School of Pharmacy, 1975) and I went to see John Denver give a concert there. John was on the steps of the Capitol facing the Kanawha River, and Larry and I were sitting on the wall across Kanawha Boulevard, looking up at him, with the glistening Kanawha River to our backs. Our gold domed capitol made a striking backdrop, and the scene is forever etched in my mind. It was a beautiful sunny day, crisp and cool. I think it must have been in the fall of 1972, because we were married in June of 1973. I remember listening to the song, and looking at all the surrounding beauty, sensing a bond with others in the audience and feeling very humble and yet, very proud.

Larry and I have reflected on that day throughout the years… it was memorable for both of us. Larry has served in the West Virginia Legislature for eighteen years, and we can’t help but recall one of our first visits to the Capitol without fond memories.

Anna Border, ‘74
BS Elementary Education

When I saw your article in our alumni magazine about “Country Roads” and the invitation to tell our stories, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Although I grew up in Arthurdale (Preston County), I moved to the Hershey, PA, area after graduation from WVU when I married my classmate, John. As you can imagine, we have made numerous trips home over the years—most to visit my parents and friends, but also for Mountaineer games and shopping.

It has become our family tradition to sing along with Mr. Denver to “Country Roads” as we cross into West Virginia on Interstate 68. I began doing it many years ago and, much to John’s chagrin, when our daughter was old enough to learn the words, she started joining in. Soon, John took the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach and now we all participate.

So, should you pass a car on I-68 with windows down and the three occupants singing “West Virginia, mountain mama …” at the top of their lungs, just know that the Talabers are coming home.

Kimberly Davisson Talaber
Class of ‘92

P.S. Guess what my ringtone is when my parents call my cell phone!

My wife Linda and I were enjoying an evening in the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, listening to the four piece band play polkas and German oompah music. The place was packed and loud. We were stunned when this little German band began playing “Almost Heaven!” Immediately we began hearing loud cheers and shouts of ‘how bout dem eers’ around us. As we stood and looked around the crowd of about 250 people, we saw three other groups of people also standing and cheering. We made our way to those tables to find ‘Mountaineers’ enjoying the atmosphere and refreshments of the Hofbrauhaus, and we had a little West Virginia homecoming there in the fatherland. A member of the band informed us that the song is a regular part of their arsenal of songs and usually gets a rousing reception.

Tom Seamon, BS, 1963

My name is Erica and I was born and raised in Morgantown, then went to WVU from 96-2000. I now live in Portland, Ore., where I’ve lived for about six years.

My “Country Roads” story is that my husband and I went to Jamaica about seven years ago, and we were staying in a little town called Ochos Rios. At the resort a waitress asked us where we were from and we said “West Virginia.” She then went on in her Jamaican accent to sing, “Country roads…ma ma ma maaa!” (I don’t think she realized the lyrics were “mountain mama.”) The combination of being so far from home and then to hear this rendition in the accent was priceless.

Erica Fot

Odd – I was staying at the Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, and my family and I went to dinner in their main restaurant. We were seated at a table overlooking the man made mountain, Sigiriya, when the harpist and his vocal accompaniment began to sing, in a heavy Singhalese accent, “All-most HAY-vin, Vest Virginia!” We joined in immediately and thanked and tipped them heavily for playing our song. They told us that a German couple had requested it about a year before, and that he crowds always seemed to like it, so it became a part of their nightly set list. It was ridiculously surreal and beautiful, one of my most pleasant memories.

Funny – I was out for a night of celebration after a football game at Mutt’s. It was about 2 in the morning and a I noticed that the fellow two seats down had passed out on the bar. Then, as if a chorus from the angels, Country Roads came on the box. It was like watching Scooby Doo get carried away by the smell of a big sandwich. The fellow began to arise and sing along with this song. It was a beautiful sight, and gave me perspective, as a native West Virginian, on how much the song really means to every Mountaineer.

Thanks for letting me tell my story,
Yancey William Burns
Class of 2005 – Journalism

Since graduating from WVU in 1986, “Country Roads” has had special place in my heart, and as I go through life, it reminds me of my adopted home state of West Virginia and of the wonderful years I spent there.

1993 Hong Kong — I am in a hotel bar on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong (then still a British possession). I am having a drink with friends after work, when I hear “Country Roads” begin to play. Of course, I immediately go to locate the source. To my astonishment a group of Filipino musicians that plays regularly at the bar is singing a near perfect cover of “Country Roads.”

1994 Century City, CA — I was in the wedding of an engineering classmate of mine who insisted that we sing “Country Roads” together at his rehearsal dinner. While our poor singing was painful to the other guests, it’s one of my fond memories of the event.

2006 Potomac, MD — I am putting my future Mountaineers to bed, when my four-year-old daughter employs her favorite stall tactic with me. She asks me to sing “Country Roads.” It’s her favorite, because she knows I cannot refuse. So, I position myself in the hallway where both she and her brother can see me, and we sing all three verses together.

2008 Beijing, China — I am on the Great Wall of China near Beijing when my local tour guide asks me where I went to school. I tell him West Virginia, and I ask him if he’s heard of it. He says “of course! John Denver and Country Roads!”, to which I reply “exactly!”

Scott Becker
BS Civil Engineering 1986

In 1990, my wife and I checked into a hotel in Mysore, India, then went into the dining room for lunch. As is common in Indian hotels, a small combo of instrumentalists was playing music for the pleasure of the diners. These performers were playing typical Indian pieces, when suddenly we were hearing the strains of “Country Roads”! As we were the only non-native diners, I doubt that they were playing the piece for our benefit.

Richard Flippen, ‘53

I was born and raised in West Virginia, and graduated from WVU in 1985. Even though I was a WV native and spent two years in the WVU Marching Band, I never learned the words to “Country Roads.”

During a two-week business trip to Taiwan in 1992, the locals were fascinated by how well I used chopsticks. They asked me where I learn how to use them. I told them, “West Virginia” (which is true). Once my host learned
where I was from, he insisted that I sing “Country Roads” at Karaoke. I told him that I didn’t know the words.
He said “That’s OK, because they will show up on the TV screen.”

During the remainder of the visit, it seemed like there was Karaoke every place we went and I was expected
to sing “Country Roads.” When I left Taiwan, I knew all the words to the song and haven’t forgotten them
to this day. I love telling people that I learned to use chopsticks in West Virginia and learned the words to “Country Roads” in Taiwan.

Stan Eppert
BSChE 1985

The “Country Roads” story I have is when I was a freshman living in Towers. There was another freshman on the floor from New York state who loved the song so much that he put it on an entire side of a cassette so that it played over and over. I also did something like that a few years ago. I used the original version of John Denver’s song plus the version he recorded in 1986 and of course the Pride of West Virginia’s version which I put on cassette that I recorded from CDs.

Michael Bragg
Class of 1989

In response to the request in the alumni magazine, here is my short thought on Country Roads:

I travel internationally on business travel and people often say “Country Roads” when I tell them I’m from West Virginia. My fondest memory is from October 2006 in Linz, Austria. Our company had arranged a large conference and had chartered a large river boat one night for a dinner cruise for all the attendees. During the evening, the band played Country Roads and saw many people, from Germany, England, India and others were singing along. It was the only song of the evening that got such a response.

On a personal basis, several times my family had to relocate out of state, and the song would always make me think of home when I heard it on the radio (just like the song says “the radio reminds me of my home far away”). Luckily, we were able to move back home a dozen years ago but the song still touches me whenever I hear it but especially after a home football victory.

Sincerely,

Pete Martin

I read with interest “Country Roads Brings us Home” in the latest edition of the WVU Alumni Magazine. I thought I might share with you a little of my “Country Roads” story.

I grew up in Morgantown; both of my parents were professors at WVU. John Denver’s famous song was something I had heard countless times, whether on the radio or at the many Mountaineer football and basketball games I attended, both as a kid, and as a student at WVU.

In 1985 I was a junior at WVU, pursuing my BA in international relations. I had the chance to spend that summer in Shanghai, China, studying Mandarin and Chinese culture.

When I arrived in Shanghai I was extremely surprised to find that most Chinese had heard of West Virginia. How, I wondered, could people in a closed communist society on the other side of the world have heard of West Virginia. It amazed me even more so when I recalled the many people here in the U.S. had no idea West Virginia even existed as a state, who would tell me about all their relatives in Norfolk or Richmond, Va. China in the mid-1980s was a country that was just beginning to open up to the W