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 West. The communist government allowed ‘appropriate’ influences from the West to come in to the country. This included some music. “Country Roads” was evidently part of the appropriate ‘disco’ music from the United States that was not seen as devious or subversive by the communist authorities. It never failed, whenever my fellow American students and I would travel anywhere in China, even to some relatively remote areas, the Chinese youth interested in finding out about America would ask us where were from. They would show polite indifference to those in my group who were from California, New York, Wisconsin, etc. However, the minute I mentioned I was from West Virginia, their eyes would light up, and they would immediately begin singing in their best English “Country Roads take me home…” I loved it! Finally, on the other side of the world, West, by God, Virginia was finally getting recognition and respect. All I can say is “Thank you, John Denver.” You did more good for my state then you could possibly have imagined. I had to travel to China, but I finally found people who knew that West Virginia was actually a state!

Hope this little story is of some interest to you.

Sincerely,

Kevin Head (Class of ‘86)
St. Paul Park, Minnesota

I was a freshman when John Denver came to the opening of Mountaineer Field on September 6, 1980. I remember the helicopter coming in, John Denver singing to the alumni, and the students booing him until he turned around and faced them. And I do remember how dumb-founded he seemed to be…whether it was from the fans singing along, or from the students booing, we’ll never know.

Linda Williams
BSCE 1984

I was so surprised to hear John Denver’s County Roads in a bar in Hong Kong when I was studying abroad. Some of the locals even knew the words and were singing along with me. I knew then, that my alma mater, and pride at WVU would follow me anywhere I went in life!

Dana Landacre
02’ BS in Biology

I have two fun “Country Roads” story. Before I entered WVU Law School, I went on a school trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey with a group from Fairmont State. Two different times during the trip we were at restaurants when house bands began to play our beloved state song so our entire group began to sing along. Later when I was shopping at a small jewelry shop in Ephasis, Turkey, the clerk asked me where I was from. When I told him West Virginia, he began singing “Country Roads.” At the end of his song he shyly asked, “What is a Mountain Mama?” That image has remained with me all of these years.

My second funny story took place near Loch Ness, Scotland, a few years before my trip to Turkey. I was a a junior at Fairmont State and began speaking with a group of French tourists. We had been told that most Europeans did not know much about US geography, especially a small state like West Virginia. Many would only know about New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Well as soon as I said West Virginia, a group of older French tourists began singing “Country Roads.” They said that it was one of their favorite American songs and that they were finally happy to meet someone from such a beautiful state with such a great song.

I hope that you enjoy the stories.

Sami Storage Sloboda
Law School Class of 2000

In 1992, I visited a friend of mine in Munich, Germany for the last night of their Oktoberfest celebration. If you’ve never been, it’s almost like a state fair environment with carnival rides and games, along with several beer tents that seat hundreds, if not thousands of patrons. Within each tent was usually a stage in the middle with a traditional oompah band or a popular music band. Needless to say, it was quite a celebratory atmosphere.

My friend and I started a conversation with others at our table and I mentioned that was from West Virginia. One of the German tablemates replied, “Almost Heaven?” I laughed and said yes, showing my driver’s license as proof. Apparently, “Take Me Home Country Roads” was somewhat
popular in Germany at the time, so my affiliation with the song made me a popular guy. Several minutes later, the band started to play the song and my tablemates
started cheering loudly. The next thing I knew, I was being hoisted into the air and carried around the tent as my new best (and somewhat inebriated) friends sang along with the band in thick German accents.

Thanks to “Country Roads,” I had an experience in Germany that I’ll never forget. However, I’m not so sure my tablemates remembered much even the next day.

Sincerely,
Alan M. Estep
BSEE Class of ‘85

Several years ago, when my good friend Vincent, a Vietnamese refugee, learned I was from West Virginia, he started the ritual of serenading me with Country Roads whenever I would come into his business place in the Chicago area. One day, he asked me, “Karen, have you ever been to “Mountain Momma?” I explained to him that “Mountain Momma,” was a metaphor for West Virginia and not an actual destination. He was disappointed but still hopes to visit West Virginia someday.

Around the same time, I was working for two weeks on Oahu and picked up a CD to listen to in my rental car while driving around the island. The CD was Facing Future by the talented Hawaiian singer/musician Israel “Iz” Ka’ano’i Kamakawiwo’ole. I was amazed to hear Iz sing:

Almost Heaven, West Makaha,
High-ridge mountain, crystal-clear blue watah.
All my friends there hanging on da beach,
Young and old among them,
Feel the ocean breeze.

Country road, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka’ala.
Oh, take me home, oh, country road.

I heard a voice,
In the morning calm, she calls me,
As though to remind me of my Home far away.
Driving down the road,
I feel the Spirit coming to me,
from yesterday, yesterday.

All my memories hold Heaven on high,
Brown-skinned woman, clear blue island sky.
Daytime sunshine, oo-ooh so bright,
Midnight moon a-glowing, stars up in the sky.

Country road, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka’ala.
Take me home, take me home, country road.

I hear a voice, in the morning calm, she’s calling,
As though to remind me of my Home far away.
We driving down the road, I feel the Spirits coming to me,
Of yesterday, yesterday.

Almost Heaven, West Makaha,
High ridge mountain, crystal clear blue waters.
All my friends there sitting on the beach,
Young and old among them,

Eating fish straight from the sea.
Country road, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Makaha, oh, Mount Ka’ala.

Take me home, oh country road.
Country road, take me home,
Oh to the place I belong.
West Makaha, Mount Ka’ala,

Take me home, oh country road.
Country road, oh take me home,
Yes to the place, to the place, I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka’ala,

Take me home country road.
Country road, take me home,
To the place I was born,
West Makaha, Mount Ka’ala.

Take me home, country road….

Longing for your home is universal.

Karen Snider Scott, B.A. Class of 1972
Chicago, Ill.

My father had worked overseas for years, but had never been in a location or situation where it was safe, nor practical, to bring along his wife and four children. That changed in 1976 when his new contract took him to Singapore.

My oldest brother had been taking classes at WVU, so he stayed in the US with relatives, but my sisters and I, ranging in age from 6 to 15 years old, were uprooted from school, friends, and everything we knew in Preston County, WV, and transplanted into a oriental world that looked, sounded and tasted NOTHING like we could even imagine.

We arrived in June, so we had a few months before school started. Somehow this seemed to make things worse. No friends and a neighborhood full of kids that only spoke Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian and more made the transition seem even harder.

Just over a month into our stay, our father took the family out to eat for my parent’s anniversary to a nice restaurant with a band that played during our dinner. Some songs were in Chinese, but many in English, and the band leader started taking requests from the patrons. My father began to encourage my older sister to take up a request. Of course, she refused at first thinking the whole thing silly, but eventually relented and went up to the side of the stage to whisper to a band member the request. As we started into our dessert, I about choked on my cake, when Mathew and The Mandarins (real band name) broke into…”Almost Heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains…” They KNEW the song and Mathew sang it as if he was John Denver himself. Okay, with a Chinese accent, but it sure sounded good to us. We sat at the table singing along as patrons stared and for a few moments, half way around the world felt like home.

Malisa Smith McCrobie
Thornton, WV

When I was in Africa doing an international rotation in medical school, we had the opportunity to go on a safari in Kenya in the Masai Mara. After a day of watching elephants, giraffes, lions, etc., one of the camp’s employees was playing the guitar as some evening entertainment and started playing “Country Roads.” Even with his Swahili accent, we all felt right at home in the African wild hearing that song.

Melissa Jugo Tinney
WVU School of Medicine
Class of 2002

My daughter Gillian (age 8) and son Cameron (age 7) both know and sing Country Roads. My daughter will sing it out loudly and while my son is content to sing “back up,” he is singing it proudly nonetheless. I taught them the lyrics in the fall of 2005 after the following incident.

During a televised WVU football game, my wife walked into the room and asked, “Is that WVU playing in the blue and yellow?” I responded yes and immediately my son protested no. I said to him, “That is WVU playing”, to which he responded, “I know that WVU is playing, but they are NOT blue and yellow. They are OLD GOLD and blue!” He was 4 at the time.

Glenn Barrie
WVU 1986

For nearly 20 years following a very successful career with C&P Telephone (AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Verizon), I was privileged to have had the opportunity to travel to, live and/or work in about 75 countries around the globe in my role as an international business management consultant. I specialized in the development of entrepreneurship in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) for various foreign governments, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations International Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Secretariat, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).

During this time I heard “Country Roads” on numerous occasions. Here are some of the more memorable ones that I believe meet your criteria for craziest, oddest or favorite place.

As sung by a group of British expatriates in the British Cricket Club in Georgetown, Guyana, in South America. This was at a time when I was addressed as “Comrade Ash” by the Guyanese. I found during my travels, reveling Brits always look for an excuse to sing and drink.

Walking into the Gold Reef Saloon in the Gold Reef City theme park in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa, my daughter and I were surprised to hear the song blaring from a jukebox by the bar.

During dinner at a German run casino in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was sung by a Chinese quartet whom couldn’t quite enunciate the lyrics.

Sung on the remote island nation of Niue, in the South Pacific. How remote was it? My travel agent in Charleston couldn’t even find a flight to get there. Performed by a neighborhood Polynesian band playing traditional instruments at a holiday feast in the capital city of Alofi.

In Chaing Mai in northern Thailand I was serenaded via Karaoke performed by my Thai colleagues.

In Honiara on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands the song was sung by a large group of Americans and other international expatriates during the 4th of July celebration at the residence of the Peace Corps director.

Finally my colleagues and I sang “Country Roads” while partying on a boat in the Gulf of Aqaba in southern Jordan just off the Israeli coast right before my retirement.

I must say that this song has often times joyously reminded me of home and family while at other times choking me up with a tear or two.

I look forward to reading other alumni experiences with “Country Roads”.

Regards,
Bob
Robert L. Ash ‘68
Rock, West Virgina

I’m not a grad, but my family loves the Mountaineers and have been donors to scholarship programs.

In 1982, I was on a whale-watching trip in southeast Alaska on the Majestic Explorer. The ship ran aground, and we had to be evacuated from the ship. The weather was really bad and we were taken by Zodiacs to local fishing boats which then took us to the nearest land/city.

After a time, a ferry boat picked all of us from the various fishing vessels and took us to Juneau (not a scheduled stop on our trip). The whole city knew about our situation, as it had appeared in the afternoon paper.

Just down from the hotel was the Red Dog Saloon which I had always heard about, and by this time, I was ready for a beer. So, I headed to the Red Dog. The bartender asked where I was from and I told him I was from West Virginia. I explained that I had been on the Majestic Explorer and from that point on, the drinks were on the house.

During this time, a small band had set up and the first song they played was “Country Roads.” The band dedicated it to the West Virginia passenger from the Majestic Explorer.

It was unique because of all of the factors that brought me to this place where I could hear this wonderful song.

Jeannette Kincaid
Canaan Valley, W.Va.

I’m glad to see you asking for these stories.

I was in Beijing with a women in leadership conference. We were in a Peking duck restaurant for our final group meal – a group of women from the US from many different professions and a group from the All-China Women’s Federation and women’ studies programs in Beijing. One of the people from the U.S. had a musical instrument – a banjo or ukulele, I think – and the group was singing various songs. I was talking to a woman who taught women’s studies in Beijing and not paying much attention to the singing until the group started on “Country Roads.”

I interrupted the conversation to join the group, of course, and there were all these Chinese and people from throughout the US, standing in a circle with our arms around each other, singing “Country Roads.” One person in our group was a graduate of the WVU School of Journalism and another whose daughter had just graduated from WVU.

Karen Bird from the Office of International Students and Scholars told me she heard it on a beach in Bali when tourist boats were going back and forth across a bay between resorts. Dr. Judith Stitzel told me she, her husband and son were on an island on the International Date Line when musicians at the place where they were staying asked her son if he had a request for something for them to play. He suggested “Country Roads,” and so they played it.

Barb Howe
WVU Center for Women’s Studies

Depending on the time and place it’s heard, this song can bring tears to my eyes, bring back funny memories or just make me smile, but one thing for sure, I cannot ignore it. Just try not to sing ‘Weh-est Virginia’ or add the Mountaineer Marching Band’s famous percussion riff ‘Da da, Da da da, Da Da’ when you hear it; even if it’s played as elevator music!

In addition to hearing this song played at all home football games, at weddings of fellow Mountaineers and at my own wedding, the funniest story I have about this song occurred a few years ago, some 20 (YIKES!) years after graduation.

Once, or if the stars are aligned just so, twice a year three of my closest friends and I take off for a long ladies weekend to Hilton Head Island. This particular year while at The Dog, a local crooner began a cover of “Country Roads.” I immediately flew out of my chair with a ‘Whoop’ and B-lined to the dance floor. I knew these ladies were indeed my best friends when all three without hesitation ‘Whooped’ and ran up with me. We danced, sang and laughed hysterically (maybe you had to be there!).

Even though they hail from universities in North Carolina, Michigan and Tennessee, they became that night and for evermore true Mountaineers because of that song!

Carrie Antonello
BSIE – ‘85
Raleigh, NC

As you may know, Wells Fargo Insurance Services (formerly Acordia) houses its Mid-Atlantic headquarters in Charleston. This HQ manages insurance sales and administration services in the Virginias, Carolinas, Maryland, Tennessee and Kentucky.

In 2004 Wells Fargo held its annual sales meeting in Maui. Based upon the prior year’s performance, insurance producers had to qualify to attend. That year, the Mid-Atlantic region qualified the most producers of any of the regions nationally. As part of our recognition, we were called upon to introduce one evening’s entertainment (a band) with our rendition of “Country Roads” in front of several hundred attendees.

Thankfully there were about 17 WVU graduates among us, but a Roanoke College graduate – Andy Teeter – was the only one who knew all the words and led 26 of us as we struggled through the song, singing much more loudly when we sang the chorus.

By the way, the WVU Band’s rendition of the Aaron Copeland drum introduction and Appalachian Spring are just as meaningful as “Country Roads.” I play those in my car prior to every sales call!

Darryl Hofe, BA ‘72, MPA ‘75
Lexington, KY

I attended both Concord College in southern WV (1970-1972) and WVU (1973-1974) to obtain my college education. While attending Concord College in 1972, John Denver did a concert there. Of course, I had never heard of him before that; however, when he opened with the song “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane” he had me hooked. The concert was fabulous! After the concert he went to one of the local hole-in-the-wall restaurants and ate with a large group of students who had attended the concert. At that time he had not written “Take Me Home Country Roads.”

I’d like to think that his trip through WV, the concert he gave us, and the time that he spent after it inspired that song since it was published about three months later as I recall. It quickly became on of my favorite songs to sing. I remember hearing it sung at the WVU football game also. What a great tradition!

Another story about the song is that my brother, Danny, who also attended WVU in the early 1980s, loved the song and sang it all of the time. He had a great baritone voice. He was killed in an auto accident in 1988. Shortly after his death we were going through his things and found a cassette tape. We popped it into the tape recorder and he started singing “Take Me Home Country Roads.” What a treasure it is because it reminds us of him and of our roots in wild, wonderful West Virginia!

Every time I hear the song today, I sing along and think of what I consider “home”.

Thanks,

Katherine Goss
Fayetteville, Georgia

Probably the oddest and craziest place I ever heard the song was in Munich, Germany, during the 2001 Oktoberfest. As I was walking past one of the many beer “tents,” Paulaner if I remember correctly, I heard the familiar melody. I quickly entered the building and joined about 8,000 Germans singing, in perfect English and together with the house band, Country Roads! I’ll never forget that!!

Ben L. Kyer
Ph.D., Economics, 1984

The brief article about “Take Me Home Country Roads”
was right on. From its release in 1971, we have found
it to be our link to West Virginia – and a constant reminder whenever heard and wherever we are – of our roots. It is particularly meaningful for those of us natives who no longer live in the Mountain State.

Moreover as alums and fans of John Denver, it has been a
natural attraction to hold dear and revered – the song and its tradition among Mountaineers.

In our world travels we continue to be amazed of where we
have heard the song played and sung – whether requested
or not.

Here are a few:
2003 – Aboard the sailing ship La Ponant in the Mediterranean Sea bar lounge

2001 – A native band in a tropical island setting in the Bahamas at Harbour Island

2006 – A grey bearded folk singer in two different squares within the city of Brusells, Belgium

But of course, the most touching and emotional rendering
is to hear and sing the song after a home football victory.

Thanks for the article.

Patty and Tom Hostutler
Class of 1957 and 1962

With myself, my wife, my brother, two sister-in-laws and a cousin listing WVU on our resumes, Morgantown has become a home away from home. Nothing makes my skin tingle more than driving along I-68 and pushing play just as we pass the “Open for Business” (cringe – it’ll always be Wild and Wonderful to us) West Virginia welcome sign. Hearing those opening bars and knowing that Motown is just around the next bend is the greatest feeling in the world. The whole family does it whether we’re together or not.

A. Michael Postus III
Class of 2000

My mother’s extended family decided to go to Atlantis Resort for a family reunion the week of Thanksgiving. The family has 14 degrees from WVU, including spouses. Spending the holiday in balmy 80 degree weather was a big change from the mountains of West Virginia! On Thanksgiving Day, I was walking to the beach with my sister. A small band was playing music and I started to hum along. It was the familiar strains of Country Roads with the unique twist of a steel drum!

Kerri Dumm Linton
BA 1995, MA 1997

I saw your piece on “Country Roads” in the latest publication and I had to laugh.

“Country Roads” seemed to be following me one summer. It began when my husband was at a conference in Nebraska and called me. In the background, I hear several voices singing “Country Roads” – several of my husband’s friends who were also at the conference. They had found out that I was from WV and had to serenade me.

Just a few weeks later, my husband and I were in Bath, England. Suddenly I realized that I was hearing a very poor, off-key version of the classic song. It turns out that it was an guitar-playing Italian troubadour belting it out – badly. Still, it made me feel closer to home.

Stephanie Vogel
WVU class of 1991
St. Bonaventure, NY

My son is preparing to leave the country with his girlfriend and move to Dubai. This past week, his girlfriend was in a Karaoke bar there and a non-U.S. WVU graduate sang “Country Roads.” What was really interesting is that everybody knew it according to her.

I was there when John Denver sang the song live on Mountaineer Field. The song is uniquely ours..Mountain Momma..there is hardly a landscape in this state that doesn’t have a mountain valley. And when you live in that type of topology, you get used to being “cradled” by Mother Nature.

Country Roads…though it is easy to get East-West or North-South if you are driving through, home is most always down a one or two-lane road. That is changing, but there are no country roads like ours. For better or worse, we still have the “country” in our country roads.

Best Regards
Tim McClung

I enjoyed your article in the alumni mag. I’m one of those you wrote about who gets goose bumps when I hear the song!

I was born in Beckley, WV, but our family moved around the country quite a bit due to my dad’s consulting work. Our family maintained a permanent residence in Hinton, WV but growing up, we lived in eight different states, one foreign country and I attended 10 different schools between K-12. I could be one of those people who say they “have no roots” or are “from Everytown USA”, but for me, West Virginia is home. When my family would hear “Country Roads” playing on the radio while living outside the state, we would all sing in unison and inevitably it would bring a tear to my mom’s eye.

Since graduating from Hinton High School, Concord University and then WVU, my career has taken me to three additional states, but when asked “Where are you from?” I always reply, “WEST VIRGINIA.” This is always followed by, “But you don’t have an accent,” to which I explain my history all the while claiming Almost Heaven WV as home.

You’re right when you wrote the song is adored across the world. It’s true. Two of the most memorable times I heard the song played was while on vacation in Germany and I was sitting in a little beer garden when it came across the radio. To my astonishment, the bar erupted in a chorus of German accents singing “Almost heaven, Vest Wirginia!!” You gotta love it! The second was a few years later on a ferry boat between Ireland and Wales. An acoustic guitarist was playing a lot of American favorites. But the only one that had the whole ship singing was “Country Roads.” I still can’t put my finger on why this song touches the hearts of people in Germany, Ireland and around the globe, but for me it captures the beauty and spirit of the state. No matter where I’m living, I will always call home.

Becki Briers
Richmond, VA 23234

Some years ago, my husband Dr. Wesley Bagby, was a history professor and a Fulbright professor in Taiwan. We were in Taipei in town at a Swedish restaurant. We had an American meal and were entertained by a Japanese singer who sang Country Roads.

Jane Bagby, ‘74
Morgantown, WV

While in Russia a number of years ago with some Braxton County and other West Virginia educators who are part of a student exchange program, we took a week-long ride up the river from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It had great evening programs with dancing, singing and a bar that served a drink called the Charleston.

At one point a young lady entertained us with “Country Roads,” which she sang in English, and then asked us to sing along afterwards. The interesting thing – she spoke no English and was singing it by imitating the dialect and the words, without knowing what they meant. We loved it, and they loved that we loved it!! Of course, West Virginia became Wez Virgeena….but it was great and it was more English than we spoke in Russian. Though we were only gone 10 days, and Russia was full of culture and its people so wonderful, hearing that song made us all feel far from home and very West Virginian.

Paula Sanders
WVU, MA Early Childhood Special Education

We are blessed to keep a boat on the Chesapeake Bay out of Triton Marina in Elkton, Md. Walsh’s Dockside Restaurant at the Marina has Karaoke on Friday nights. Most Friday nights in boating season, a local group of Mountaineers take the stage to sing “Country Roads.” The bar may be in the heart of Terrapin Country, but we always get a warm reception. And for those three minutes, that song truly takes us home.

Mike and Bev Geiger (Class of 1984)
Gary and Debbie Shears (all four of their children are WVU alumni!)

From the air en route to Dubai:

It is amazing how far reaching this song has had impact.

I have traveled extensively with my various job roles for over 33 years and internationally since 1982.

As I fly today, it came to mind how many places I have participated in the singing of “Country Roads.”

From significant birthday parties with friends both with and without Karaoke machines. To late night Karaoke in Japan, Malaysia, China, Hungary, Germany, and Brazil, just to mention a few.

I often play it on my iPod while traveling as a sense of going back home, to the mountains, and my country roads of the Eastern Panhandle of WV where I grew up in Keyser.

The WVU home football games and the playing of “Country Roads” were part of life for me and my friends at WVU. Clearly my favorite memory of the song comes from a relationship built in the mid-80s while I lived and worked in Asia. For many years, a Filipino musical group played as the house band at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.

As I traveled throughout Asia in the job, I would get to Singapore only every 12 weeks or so. But, when I walked into the Bar, Michael and the Mandarins started playing “Country Roads” in honor of me and two very special friends.

Still today, I call the Shang-ri La Hotel my home in Singapore and my connection to “West by God Virginia!”

Regards,
John Gardner
BSME-’75, MSME-’76
Austin, TX

I served in the US Army from 1969 to 1971. I spent the last 15 months of my service in Germany. When I came back to the US in June, 1971, I was driving home to visit my parents, near Wadestown, W.Va. They lived on Camp Run, an old country road.

I turned on the radio to hear John Denver singing “Country Roads” for the first time. What a wonderful coincidence to hear “Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong …..” when the country road was,in fact, taking me home to see my family who I hadn’t seen in almost a year and a half.

I’m glad to see this song gives my fellow West Virginians as much pride and pleasure as it gives me. You could imagine the lump in my throat that day in 1971. It still give me the same lump today.

Best regards,
Dennis Toothman
BSEE, ‘75

I started at WVU as an electrical engineering student in 1972. I was at the first football game when then, Governor J. Rockefeller, had John Denver sing his most famous song – “Country Roads.” The Governor was introduced at the game and student section may have made some disparaging sounds and John Denver said “Let’s be good now.” The song touched everyone as everyone cheered. I don’t have a clue who we played in football, but I cannot forget the song sung that day.

Many years after graduation, I accepted a job in Dubai, UAE to build an aluminum recycling facility. During the process of construction, one of the hydraulic systems was put in place and I noticed a set of valves missing. Somehow the hydraulic designers completely missed putting on the required valves. I called in one of the local contractors to get the valves and install them on the unit. A man came, who spoke very good English, and made a proposal to correct the hydraulic problem and also gave me a bid to install the hydraulic piping system. At the conclusion of our discussions, I asked him where he was from. He said Pakistan. He in turn asked me where I was from and I said the states. He asked where at in the states. I told him that he probably wouldn’t know the state as it has a relatively small population and is not really well known. West Virginia. He said, do you mean “Mountain Momma West Virginia?” He said he had always wanted to meet someone from West Virginia as I love the song and started to sing it. He said he missed the mountains in Pakistan where he was born. Well needless to say, we got along great and he did an excellent job on the hydraulic systems installation.

The last day of my stay in Dubai, several co-workers asked to take me out to dinner. They said you pick the restaurant and we’ll pick up the tab. So I picked a very nice restaurant in which I had been wanting to dine. The place had an artificial stream with gondolas to ride through the spacious beautiful setting. Bands were playing and there were various types of entertainment. We had a wonderful meal and the tab was paid and just as we were pushing out our chairs to leave, the band started playing “Country Roads.” This was an extremely emotional point of time for me. I was very anxious to get back home and see my wife and my two children. The job had been continuous 12 hour days in very, very hot weather. This dinner was the very last thing I was going to do in Dubai before getting on the airplane. How fitting, “Take me home, Country Roads.” It was like God was saying to me, you did well and what was right and this is my message to you to let you know everything is alright, I’m with you. Tears came to my eyes.

I’m still attending some football games, when I can get a ticket, especially since my son is now a student in mining engineering at WVU.

“Country Roads” is still a favorite at the nursing home where a group of us play at once a month. I attend Darkesville United Methodist Church and a small group of us plus a couple others enjoy playing and singing. We’re not really good but they don’t seem to mind. About every two or three months we’ll play Country Roads. Everyone knows the song and even though it might not sound like John Denver, you can see the feelings and emotions in their eyes “Take me home, Country Roads…”

David Shultz

My wife and I are alumni from the class of 92. We were married at the Greenbrier in ‘96 and spent the next three weeks sailing the West Indies.

While visiting the beautiful island of Carriacou, a small band was invited to board our Windjammer Mandalay to play a few songs. You can only image how surprised and excited we were when they began to play “Country Roads.” No words can describe this unique version of the song, so I posted it on You Tube for everyone to enjoy (Country Roads in Carriacou).

From Country Roads at our wedding reception on Feb, 17th to Country Roads in Carriacou on the 26th! It simply doesn’t get any better than that! GO MOUNTAINEERS!

Clif Walker, ‘92

“Country Roads” is so very special to our family because it evokes warm memories of our West Virginia heritage. Both my husband and I are native West Virginians and proud graduates of WVU.

My father was J. E. “Ned” Watson, III of Fairmont. He too was a proud graduate of the WVU Law School and a legislator in the House of Delegates from Marion County during the 1950s and 1960s. He was a loyal Mountaineer football fan. When he died in Florida the family brought him home and while his ashes were being driven to West Virginia, “Country Roads” was being lustily sung by the family while crossing the state line heading toward Fairmont.

John Denver’s music was again a part of the funeral when the organist solemnly and stately played “Country Roads” during the recessional. There wasn’t a dry eye in the church. Truly, “Country Roads” had brought my father home.

Eleanor Watson Laughlin
WVU Class of 1965
Arlington, Va.

Last year, I began a friendship with a lady who serves as a municipal administrator in the city of Somdet in Northeast Thailand. In one of our on-line discussions, she mentioned that her favorite song was “Country Roads” by John Denver. I admitted that he remains my favorite singer (and that I attended West Virginia University when his song was still on the “charts”). She said that she liked the song because she is a “country girl,” having grown up on a rice farm in Northeast Thailand and living in the country still near a small town.

When I visited her in Thailand last fall, we spent some time in her hometown, Somdet, a “country” town of more than 50,000 people! I tried to explain to her that where I live now, at the edge (with a farm behind my house) of a small town of 8,000 people, is more of a country setting. In our own way, we remain country folk who still follow the “Country Roads.”

I appreciated seeing your article in the spring issue of the Alumni Magazine. John Denver’s spirit lives on in all of us.

Thanks,

Dr. Jon Travis
MA, 1972
Commerce, TX 75429

We all love that you have asked for “Country Roads” stories. We have countless; however, we have one that stands out above all others in our minds.

Ten years ago a dear WVU friend and Alpha Xi Delta sorority sister, Teresa Provenzano, who is from Wheeling, WV, invited her friends and family to join her in Berkeley, CA, for her wedding. We all showed up and had the time of our lives together reminiscing, dancing, partying and just having a grand time.

During the reception which was held in a beautiful hall nestled up in the hills above Berkeley, the DJ played “Country Roads” and we (the Mountaineers) brought the house down. We all joined together with our arms wrapped around each other in a huge circle and sang our hearts out. It was a truly beautiful moment to be singing together with each of us completely aware of the bond we share, and we’ll forever share. We were surrounded by old friends, new friends, family and this beautiful couple who were about to embark on a new life together.

Later, Teresa told us that her California friends thought it was really cool that we had a song to share which meant so much to all of us equally. Teresa and Bruce Nordman are still living in California with their two boys. We all still keep in touch and still talk about their wedding.

When we hear the song today, no matter where we are in the world, we think of WVU and each other.

In True WVU spirit,
Gayle Oughton Martin
Teresa Provenzano
Lynn McMenamy Jacobs

A year after my husband and I were married, we were blessed with a “second honeymoon.” At the time he was working for an international insurance company and he was assigned to do some work, for six weeks, in southeast Asia.

We traveled to Singapore, Tokyo, Thailand and, finally, the island of Cebu in Philippines. While in Cebu, we stayed at an awesome resort. Indoor courtyard, “social hour” every evening, two tiered pool, six themed restaurants – the whole works. The last night of our stay, we decided to go the Mexican restaurant. They had a little traveling “cantina band” that would walk around and serenade the tables, just like you see in the movies.

Well, they came over to our table and asked us where we were from in the United States. I said, “Well, I live in North Carolina, but I’m from West Virginia.” They all said something like, “Oh we know your song.” They proceeded to sing “Take Me Home Country Roads.” By the end of the first chorus I was a crying mess!!! I had been away from the US for so long and hadn’t been “home” in about six months. It just hit me like a ton of bricks.I can still hear them singing, “Country Rooooad, teke mee home, to da play, I bee long! West Vargeenia, moun-ten Ma-MA, teke mee home, Country Road!” Oh, boo, hoo! Five Filipino men, a half a world away, were able to bring me to tears and take me back home with a simple song. It was a great finish to an unbelievable trip.

Thank you for letting me share my story,
Amy Atwell Woods
WVU Class ‘86
Charlotte, NC

I have my fourth graders sing “Country Roads” each spring at their spring show. (I teach at a K-4 school, so let the 4th graders ‘shine’ their last year!) They love singing it.

But, the best rendition of it was performed by a band called “The Gentlemen”, a celtic rock band my son, Tommy Bailey, a fledgling junior at WVU is in. One of the members of the band plays the bagpipes and with the drums and guitars I think it’s very effective. I am a former applied piano graduate of WVU so I like to think I know when something is pretty good, but of course if my son’s in it I can’t be entirely objective. I have thought all year that the band should offer to play it for the governor. I think he would like it, too. I think everyone would like it.

Pam Bailey
Pineville, W.Va.

After reading your article “Country Roads Brings Us Home” in the recent edition of the WVU Alumni magazine, as a native West Virginian, I want to share my favorite place where I heard the song.

The location was in a pub on the main street of Edinburgh Scotland in June of 2003. Me and my husband were touring England and Scotland, prior to our wedding which took
place at a castle in Aberlady Scotland with my brother and sister-in-law.

One evening after dinner we ventured into a pub for a pint and minutes after we’d arrived we heard the song “Country Roads” being belted out by a musician playing acoustic guitar. My brother smiled at me and asked if I
had requested the musician to play the song, even though I did not request the song.

Your article accurately points out that the song resonates with people everywhere in the world. Another popular song that I heard in the UK was ‘On the Banks of the Ohio’, this song also sends chills to my spine
and touches my heart because I grew up on the banks of the Ohio.

Warm Regards,
Jami McClellan
BS 1989, MS 1990

I am a 1982 graduate of WVU with a BSJ, living in Morgantown. My husband and I were in Fiji last May and stayed on the resort island of Tokoriki. Evening music was provided by a group of native Somoans, singing mostly local songs.

After traveling for over two weeks, we were somewhat homesick and took a chance. We requested “Country Roads” and they delivered – twice! The video is posted on youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEnsMeI7kC0.

Ginna Royce, ‘82
Morgantown, WV

I like to think that I had something to do with the word of “Country Roads” spreading across West Virginia.

I was born and raised in Logan, W.Va., and I did attend WVU but for only one year. My brother, George, attended undergrad and law school there and in 1967 was working in Pittsburgh for US Steel Corp. He invited me for a visit and there I went on a blind date with another WVU Law School grad.

I married him and we were living in Pittsburgh when a friend of ours had gone for a vacation in Colorado. He came back and told me about hearing this song about West Virginia by John Denver. I searched and searched and finally found the album. My mother was working for the
local radio station in Logan(she worked for 30 years there). I played her the song over the telephone and she went to her boss the next morning and told him about the song. They began playing “Country Roads” and the rest is history.

My husband and I were at the WVU game that John Denver performed that song, and I cannot hear it without
getting choked up because I do so love West Virginia. Even though I still live in Pittsburgh, West Virginia will always be home.

Linda Albright Rea (Charles WVU 63-School of Law 66)
Pittsburgh, PA

I was commerce commissioner in those days. I was driving down the turnpike, and I heard the song on the radio and wondered who locally wrote that song?

I contacted John Denver’s manager to see if we can bring him to Charleston. We brought him to Charleston and did a free concert in front of the Capitol with about 10,000 there. He came to my house for lunch. As the song caught on and is probably the greatest public relations campaign that that has ever happened to us.

I worked at WVU from ‘73-’83. We introduced the song at the old stadium with the band playing, and I got to conduct it. Of course, then he performed at the opening of Mountaineer Field at the new stadium. The band did a special arrangement which remains part of their performances today.

Lysander Dudley
Singer Island, Fla.

My dad, wife, and my five boys all graduated from WVU, as well as other family members.

I have personally heard Country Roads performed in Ireland, England, Thailand, and just last month in Cairns, Australia. The song is known and sung world-wide. A friend of mine has entertained around Charleston, South Carolina for the last 40 years. He told me last summer that “Country Roads” was the most requested song for two years running when it came out in 1970-71. Of course, he plays it for me when I come through the door. I must say I am moved to tears every time I hear it. There are few songs out there with such impact!!!!

Jim DeFrance
Wilmington, NC

My favorite place that I have heard “Country Roads” was in Rome in May 2005. We were traveling with three West Virginia born and raised couples looking for the bus to take us home to our bed and breakfast.

After walking the streets, unsuccessful in our attempt, we saw a young professional sitting at a bus stop. He was an attorney from Sicily working in Rome. He graciously walked us to the correct location to get our bus. While walking down the street, after asking where we were from in the USA, he serenaded us with “Country Roads.” He said it was the only song he knew on his guitar and had never had anyone to sing it to before. Needless to say, we all sang along with him!!

Diana Oliver Frum
DDS ‘83

I work for the State Department in the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations. I have been out of West Virginia and the good old USA since May 9 and was in Kathmandu, Nepal, recently week for work. Thursday evening (May 15), I went down to the bar in the Radisson to eat dinner and low and behold the four-piece Nepalese house band played Country Roads – and it was a GREAT COVER!!! Their rendition brought a tear to my eye and a choke to the throat as it reminded me of my favorite state, my favorite university and my homeland! I still get a bit of a chill when I think about it.

Regards,
Dan Harman
MS ‘87
Hedgesville, WV

I want to share with you a Country Roads memory. I have long been a John Denver fan, and for 10 years I have called Morgantown & WVU my home. Last summer we had visitors from Sweden come to see us in Morgantown. The parents in the family speak English very well, but their kids were rather shy about English, understanding a very little and not speaking. While riding in the car around Morgantown, I asked them if they knew the song “Take Me Home Country Roads?” I put on the CD and we listened to the song. On my CD it was track #3. A voice in the back would then ask “Play #3 again.” By the end of their week here everyone was singing, fluently in English “Take Me Home Country Roads!” Their treasured gift from me was their own John Denver CD with “Take Me Home Country Roads” on it.

Kathy Moffett
Morgantown, WV

I went to WVU from 1998-2003. My very first night on the town, a week or two before classes started I was taken to Shooters just off High St. The song was played that night and the whole place went nuts, and I knew right then and there this song was something special.

I have heard it countless times since then and each time it gives me goose bumps, my favorite line “life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze.” But no time will compare when I heard the song overseas. I was in the Italian Dolomites skiing for a week, and we went to the disco tech. They had some guy on a keyboard singing American songs in his Italian accent. All of a sudden he starts playing Country Roads, and the whole bar goes nuts. I take off my big sweater, and I’m wearing one of my many WVU t-shirts. I buy a round shots and everyone loves it. Two days later on one of the mountains, Predazzo, during lunch I go into the bar for a few drinks and the song comes on again. I can’t believe it. I go back to Italy four years later and went to Predazzo twice in that trip, both times in the round bar the song comes on. I bought drinks every time I heard it and it always was the beginning of a great time. They love that song over there. Here is a link to picture taken of me when the song came on in the round bar a year ago with some crazy Italian behind me going nuts.

http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/59/659/1/53/93/2708153930100696859ZeHMvF_th.jpg

Hope you enjoyed the story
Chris Ferlauto
BA ‘03

As I read the spring WVU Alumni Magazine and your request for stories about “Country Roads,” I felt compelled to share this anecdote from long ago.

In the spring of 1972, I was 8-years-old, my family and I were in the Orlando, Florida, airport, headed home to Fairmont, via Pittsburgh, after our first trip to the then-new Disney World. A nasty storm system was passing through the area, so all flights were delayed, and then delayed again. As we struggled to pass the time, my little brother, who was only 3, started singing “Country Roads, take me home…”

Many folks turned to smile at him, but one guy came over and started talking to my parents. He gave us his name – Mickey is all I remember – and said he, too, was headed for West Virginia. We had a long conversation with him, and as the wait turned into hours, he told my folks about how this delay was causing him to miss his connection from Pittsburgh to wherever he was headed in the Mountain State. My dad told him, “no worries, we’ll give you a ride.” And so when we finally landed in Pittsburgh, we ended up giving our new-found friend a late-night ride to the bus station in Fairmont, where he continued his journey to his family and friends.

We never crossed paths with this guy again, and I’m not sure folks would be as likely nowadays to give a two-hour ride to a perfect stranger, but hey, anyone who strikes up a conversation based on “Country Roads” can’t be all bad, right?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share.
Mary Lynn
BSJ ‘84

I have heard the words “Almost Heaven, West Virginia…” in Germany at Ocktoberfest each time I have been there. Cover bands sing the song in the beer tents and Germans sing as if they know the words! Every time we hear it, we think how cool it is to be so far away and hear such a familiar song!

Kristin Cobb
BA ‘93, MS’95

I got my WVU alumni magazine in the mail today and had to respond to the “Country Roads” Brings us Home article.

I have spent the past four years since graduation in the U.S. Army. I’m currently stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, but have had the opportunity to travel around the world and have heard “Country Roads” on the radio in at least four foreign countries. One experience tops them all, and I knew I had to share it.

While participating in a training exercise in Kyoto, Japan, I was able to spend time at a local nursing home with some fellow troops. On the agenda activities was an afternoon of Karaoke and a “Country Roads” grand finale performed by our group. You would be surprised how many people don’t know the words to the song so it ended up just being me on stage. I’m sure it sounded awful but I was proud to belt out our unofficial school song and got a standing ovation from the crowd. John Denver is a huge hit in West Virginia but he has quite the following in Japan too.

Tara Goodman Larkin
Class of 2004

I recently went on a cruise through Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas. During the staff parade that they had during the second night, a three-piece band (which included a keyboard, violin, and bass guitar) played and sang Country Roads. I was so excited and realized just how much I miss singing that at the end of our games!

Laura Apple
BA ‘07

I took a golf trip with my father, Tom Wilkerson, a few years back to Ireland. The flight was long and we arrived in Shannon the next morning and traveled on to the town of Killarney. We were told that it made sense to take a nap to help minimize the impact of the jet lag. After a few hour of sleep at our hotel I was ready to sample the local brews.

I ducked into a small tavern and was seated at the bar reaching for the first of a few Guinness that week and to my surprise the first tune out of the guy in the corner with a guitar was “Country Roads.” Apparently, the song was popular with the Irish as well but I expect that they were all really are die-hard Mountaineer fans.

As I left the bar over the rowdiness of the crowd I could have sworn that I heard someone yell, “Beat the Heck out of Pitt!!!”

Fredrick S. Wilkerson, JD, CLU, ChFC
Charlotte, NC

I was surprised to hear Country Roads being performed in East Berlin and in perfect English by a local performer in a piano bar while I was attending the Federation of International Musicians’ worldwide Symphony Summit. Of course I joined in and ended up sitting in the rest of the week singing “Country Roads” and many other American songs.

Sam Folio
MA ‘74.

In 1970, some friends and I were at a luau at the Knights of Columbus in Weirton. AAA announced that it would be sponsoring a trip to Bermuda at Thanksgiving, so my friends and I decided to go.

The second night we were on the island, we went down to the Holiday Inn lounge. We asked the band if they could play Country Roads. They didn’t know the song. So, the next night we went back to the lounge again, and this time the band played the song. A band member told us that he had gone out and scoured the island for the sheet music and they learned that song that day.

John Olashuk
Weirton

When I was in the Colorgurad for the marching band I experienced all kinds of memorable moments. There are two that will always stick out in my mind.

The first happened in the 2004 season. It was only my second year in the band. I grew up listening to the band and knew all about “the voice,” Doc Stevens. Unfortunately, Doc pasted away that year. I remember going to his memorial. When the services concluded and everyone started leaving the church some members of the band were outside playing “Simple Gifts.” It’s by far my favorite song we play during pre-game. Buy after that day it had so much more meaning.

The other time was during a parade we did in Jacksonville for one of the Gator Bowls. The band comes around the corner playing “Country Roads.” It was like a sea of Blue & Gold, and everyone was singing along. I couldn’t help but look around. I almost forgot my routine.

Allison Conklin

I moved to West Virginia from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl in 1992. At this time, my family was living in Indiana and my father had been transferred to West Virginia. I had recently graduated from a small two year college and I wanted to go back to school. My parents informed me they would not be paying out-of-state tuition again and that I should consider moving to West Virginia. I flew home for Easter long enough for them travel to West Virginia and to sign the papers on their new home. During this time, I thought no way am I moving here – but I will travel with my parents and make them happy. The morning I was to leave for the airport, my father came to my room to see if I was packed and simply stated, “You don’t have to go.” The next thing I knew I was applying for college at Marshall University and then later to graduate from WVU with a BSW. After a few months of meeting new faces in Charleston, I went to a bar known as the levee. That night a band was playing and they began to sing Country Roads. The entire place burst into cheers and excitedly sang along. Keep in mind that I had spent the last 2-3 years going to techno bars while in Florida. I thought they were nuts! Eventually, I grew accustomed to seeing the marching band form the state while playing Country Roads and found myself bursting into cheers and excitedly singing along as I too became a Mountaineer.

I know live in Indiana and am a Director at a psychiatric residential treatment facility. About 3 months ago, I attended a board dinner where the entertainment was a group of our children playing guitars and singing. (please keep in mind that the children that we have at our facility have to overcome a great deal of boundaries and many may have never picked up a guitar before or had any opportunities such as this in their previous community environment) Anyway, one of the songs that they sang happened to be country roads. I became somewhat emotional – but had to maintain my composure for the setting that I was in. They sang it beautifully and it brought back so many memories of what a wonderful place West Virginia is. Once again I was reminded of how proud I was to have experienced living in West Virginia as well as to be a Mountaineer.

Thank you

Tyra Trueblood

I am part owner of a small event management and production company that specializes in executive-level, corporate events. In early May, we produced a conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, which involved 10 long days of hard work. As a reward following the event, our team had planned a mini-holiday on the beautiful, tropical island of Bali . . . a relaxing conclusion to a busy, nine-month conference season.

Our event team was composed of eight people, including Patrick, an old friend from my years at WVU, and Stacy, who was coincidentally in the pre-planning stages for a corporate party we’re producing in July. In April, Stacy – in her endeavor to locate an appropriate musical act for the party – mentioned that one particular artist sounded too much like John Denver. Seeing an opportunity to razz her, I proceeded to defend the honor of John Denver – and by extension, the honor of West Virginia and WVU – by emailing her the lyrics to “Country Roads” and links to YouTube videos of the Mountaineer Marching Band playing “Country Roads” at Mountaineer Field. Aside from swearing to never again besmirch the name of John Denver, Stacy was more than a little amused by my passionate-yet-humorous efforts.

Meanwhile, one evening in Bali, after a day of sun bathing and site seeing, a small group of four – including myself, Patrick and Stacy – had dinner at Ayodya Café, a surf-side restaurant specializing in Balinese seafood barbecue. All of the restaurants along Kedonganan Beach had seating on the beach . . . dining tables and chairs set upon the sand mere yards from the surf . . . a particularly relaxing way to enjoy a meal. During the various courses, we could hear music coming from a group of Balinese musicians roving along the beach from restaurant to restaurant. They were accepting requests and tips while playing a wide variety of American pop songs.

When the band arrived at our table, they played “Sweet Home Alabama,” which evidently inspired Stacy, who – either thinking that we wouldn’t dare, or that the band couldn’t possibly know the song – challenged us to request “Country Roads.” Without so much as blinking, Patrick and I looked at one another and immediately requested the song. To even our amazement, the band counted off and launched into an astonishingly good rendition of the song that has brought a smile to the faces of many a West Virginian and WVU fan: “Country Roads” . . . Balinese style!

To say the very least, Stacy was shocked, and our group – as well as the table of Australians we’d befriended at the table beside us – was howling with laughter! Still, personally, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how well the band knew the song. In fact – after mentioning the situation during our ride back to the hotel – our driver informed us that “Country Roads” was a very popular song in Bali!

I’m a native West Virginian, an alumnus and former staff member of West Virginia University, and a big fan of Mountaineer football and the Mountaineer Marching Band. I can personally say that “Country Roads” – depending upon the situation – has never failed to bring a tear to my eye or a swell of pride in my chest . . . and it always makes me think of home. But after hearing “Country Roads” on a Bali beach, I’m convinced that this song – despite, or perhaps because of, its unique mix of sincerity and cheesiness – manages to mean something similar to at least one group of people outside the borders of West Virginia.

Jeffrey W. Dickens
B.S.B.A, 1989
Annapolis, Maryland

Let me start by saying that you don’t get too much more West Virginia than carrying the McCoy family name. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years and people automatically ask me if I’m from West Virginia or Kentucky thanks to the history of the feud between the
Hatfield’s and McCoy’s.

I personally don’t like the song “Country Roads” because it encourages the stereotypes you’ve probably heard said about people from West Virginia in other parts of the United States. I can’t tell you the ridicule I have to deal with when people find out I’m from West Virginia, and I have many friends from West Virginia who live all over the United States who deal with the same thing so I know I’m not alone in this.

People outside of West Virginia honestly see us as being a bunch of ignorant hillbillies. The country twang of Denver’s version reinforces the image in peoples minds. I went to the Fiesta Bowl in January and when “Country Roads” came on the public address system after the game, people from Oklahoma were making fun of the song and called it our Hillbilly Anthem. This – from people who are as country as country gets.

I’m sure the song will always be near and dear to the hearts of the great people from West Virginia and understandably so. But for others like me who live outside of the state, the song is embarrassing. I’m not
talking about the lyrics, just the old country twang sound that Nashville has tried to distance itself from dating back to the early 90’s when Garth Brooks brought country music back from the dead.

Since I’m not the type of person to bring up a problem without offering a solution, here is what I propose.

I’ve spent over 28 years programming and branding radio stations and the past 16 have been in the Los Angeles market. The time has come to freshen the song up so it stays relative lyrically but also appeals to everyone else, West Virginian or not. We’re already gaining respect around the country thanks to our football, basketball and soccer teams. But the more the country twang of John Denver’s version is played, the more the ignorant hillbilly image will continue to burn in the minds of people outside of West Virginia.

What has to happen is the song has to be re-recorded by a popular country artist from today like Trace Atkins, Montgomery Gentry or Rascal Flatts. Even though they’re country, they’re not perceived as being “hillbilly” country.

The song would probably gain national airplay and help to re-image the state of West Virginia in a positive light and I personally care about what people
think and say about my home state.

Mark A. McCoy
Agoura Hills, CA

As class of ‘97 alumni, my husband and I 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 Country Roads. 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

For the past eight years I have been living in San Jose, California and working as a teacher in kindergarten and fourth grade. One of the subjects I teach is music. The one song I have all my students singing at the top of their lungs is Country Roads. I have even taught it to summer school students who come from Korea. When my kids go on to new grades and their teachers try to teach this song, they all say that it’s Miss Ford’s favorite song.

I have not been back to see many football games and I have to search the many channels, praying that a WVU game will be showing on the west coast. I miss hearing the crowd sing Country Roads, but when I teach it to my students I get a tear in my eyes and remember all the good times I had at WVU. And I enjoy the fact that I have spread the song to many other countries, Korea, and India, just to name a few.

Stacey Ford
BA ‘98

The best place I heard Country Road was half way across the world in the beautiful Southern area of the Philippines, known as Bohol, which is known for its Chocolate Hills, a natural geographical phenomenon, and the Tarsier monkeys – the world’s smallest monkey.

Anyway, my mom and sister, Vivian, were taking the river boat cruise where the locals feed you local foods on a river raft. There were also a couple of singers. The guy with the guitar sang a bunch of songs and then finally broke out into John Denver’s Country Road. We started singing it since it was our home song. I never thought that I would hear that song in the middle of a jungle.

John Cabral

While at a business performance celebration meeting in Maui sponsored by my company in 2005, our President described the West Virginia employees as the “heart and soul” of our company, and asked all of us to come up front because the band had a song for us. The band proceeded to play “Country Roads” and the 25-30 West Virginians in attendance proceeded to lead the meeting in
singing “Country Roads.”

Another Country Roads memory, also in 2005, occurred when I was on a fishing trip at Bimini in the Bahamas.
While at a bar, the band – unsolicited – began playing “Country Roads.”

On a different note, I wear the “Flying WV” in all my travels, and it is an extraordinary brand. I regularly get positive comments about our state, our University, and the athletic programs.

Andy Richardson

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 of the world knew the words and began to sing. I’m sure John Denver would have 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
BA ‘91

I’ve lived in many different states since 1989, but the song “Country Roads” has traveled with me. Every time I hear it, the goose bumps appear and the tears begin to fall, and the Mountaineer memories return. It has always been a comforting song to me, and so I sang it to my son Cole(9 years) and my daughter Jadyn(4 years) when rocking them to sleep. They would often ask me to “sing the West Virginia song, Mommy” at bedtime. It became a ritual. Jadyn could sing the words to “Country Roads” as well as the WVU fight song before the of age 2. Now it is our family song that we sing to bring us closer to the place we call “Almost Heaven”.

Lisa Steil

I found your story about John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” interesting and I would agree that it has become “the anthem” for the state of West Virginia. Having grown up in West Virginia and receiving two degrees from WVU, every time I hear the song it brings back “good memories”. I have lived in Colorado now for the last 10 years and 13 years in Indiana prior to that. I have always been proud of my West Virginia heritage. It continues to amaze me of the number of people that have “roots” in West Virginia. We have a strong alumni chapter here in Colorado and when we get together to watch the Mountaineers we always end the day by singing Country Roads. We are looking forward to the WVU vs. Colorado game on September 18th here in Colorado.

You ask that we send stories of the craziest or oddest place where we have heard the song. Here is one from my wife—

My wife was traveling on business two years ago and was in Munich, Germany. It was late September and in the middle of their October Fest. She and a group of her business associates were out on the town one evening. As they entered this rather large beer garden she said that all of the patrons were standing with their beer mugs raised in the air and singing. She then realized that they were singing “Take Me Home Country Roads.” She said the enthusiasm that was displayed in the singing of the song was unbelievable. She immediately called me and said “you are not going to believe this.”

Harold “Doc” Lykins

I work in the engineering field designing passenger rail transit cars, or Subway cars. This work takes me all over the world working with customers and railcar builders.

One evening, back in 2001, I was with a customer in Zurich, Switzerland. After the day’s work, and a nice dinner in the cold winter of Zurich, I walked with my customer to take him back to his hotel. Departing, then, through the Piano Bar, I was greeted by the piano player starting the song “Country Roads!!!!!”

Needless to stay, I stopped to listen, and was awestruck when the entire crowd in this busy place sang along!

What fun it was, I beamed with pride as I later told the piano player that I had seen John Denver several years earlier at the new Mountaineer Field, when the exuberant crowd welcomed him from his helicopter to the field.

Mountaineers world wide!!!!

Frank Culver
BSME 1979
Finleyville, PA

I am an alumnus from WVU in Chemistry and then MD received in 1983. My family and I moved to China to work at a government hospital in 2002. After I had been there for several months, I was very homesick. We were in a taxi in Shandong province and the driver reached under the seat to pull out an old cassette tape to play for us since we were Americans. It was John Denver singing “Counrty Roads!” We laughed until we cried and we sang with it at the top of our voices! The driver was shocked at our response and we tried to tell him in broken Chinese that was our home! It helped me to deal with being homesick!!

Sydney Short

The oddest place I have heard “Country Roads” happened about 4 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 oompa band that sits there and plays music all night long. There were quite a few people there that night, enjoying the huge 1-liter beers. The atmosphere in the Hofbrau house is always festive and filled with the sound of people’s chatter and the oompa band. About midway through dinner, the
oompa 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

I have been meaning to write to you ever since I read the article in the latest edition of the WVU Alumni Magazine. I just wanted to share some of my memorable experiences with “Country Roads.”

First and foremost, I was trained ever since I was knee high to bleed gold and blue. My father was a big football fan, and I have had season tickets for about 20 years in a row now (and I just turned 30). I graduated from WVU in 2000 and just had a younger brother graduate this past spring. There was no other option of colleges to attend other than WVU.

I have been listening to that song all my life and sung it regularly with my father on those long four-hour trips from Clinton, MD, to Morgantown. We moved to Harpers Ferry, WV, in 1995, so now it is only two and half hours. By the way, Harpers Ferry is the only place in WV (that I know of) that has BOTH the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. It is probably one of the prettiest places you’ll ever find. I have heard cruise ships play “Country Roads” in the middle of the Caribbean and the whole place singing along in unison. I have heard my younger brother tell me that when he was stationed in Japan while serving in the United States Marine Corps. He went to an establishment that was packed with thousands of people singing “Country Roads” in techno version.

Most recently, a very memorable moment was on my honeymoon. We were on a cruise ship off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands, and we sang Karaoke together to the tune of “Country Roads.” I am not a very good singer, but I could only sing the song I felt most comfortable. To me there was no other song than, “Country Roads”! Before I started the song, I said on the microphone “Some call this place Paradise,” but where I am from, they call it “Almost Heaven.” We proceeded with the song, and had the whole place singing with us. We ended with a standing ovation. I can say that was a moment in time that I will never forget. Thanks for all its meaning and glory. “Country Roads”, a song for ALL time!

Thanks and God Bless,

Todd Varney
BS ‘00
Harpers Ferry, WV

I was a Rotary exchange student in Sweden from 1991-1992. On occasion, I would join our local group of American, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand exchangees on a very old diesel bus for trips to surrounding countries. On our trip to Copenhagen, Denmark we stopped at a pub before heading back to the hostel. One of the members of our group was from Gulf Shores. She delighted in having “Sweet Home Alabama” piped through the jukebox. The next song she had selected was supposed to surprise me. In the end, we were all surprised. When “Country Roads” began to play, the entire bar stopped mid-conversation and started singing. Everyone at our table just sat there for a minute (mouths wide open) staring at me. I was singing too. Soon they were as well. The Danes knew all of the words. You almost forgot where you were.

Justin Southern
BA ‘96

In 1992 I was at a hotel in Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight from San Francisco. I went to the hotel bar for a drink and there was 4 piece combo with a girl singer. All of the band members were from the Philippines. They were singing in English, mostly soft rock. After about 3 songs they broke into Country Roads and the entire bar erupted into song on the chorus. Gave me chills!

In 2005 a WV friend and I were at a basketball game in LA when the Mounties were playing UCLA. We won and I asked a kid were the nearest beer could be found. He said about 10 blocks down the hill at an Irish pub. We walked down to the place and there were about 15 WVU fans there. Within maybe 15 minutes there were 100+ and someone found that Country Roads was on the juke box. It was played relentlessly for more than 3 hours.

John Vaughan, MSE ‘83

In 1991, my sister and I were in an Irish Pub on the Aran Islands which are 30 miles off the western coast of Ireland. I had on a West Virginia sweatshirt and the band started playing “Country Roads” as we sat down. I was so shocked.
I have been to several bowl games and I never get tired of hearing that song. I love how we sing it after football games and seeing the players sing also.
I thought it was just me who gets sooo emotional when I hear it or sing it.
Of course we sang it at our son’s wedding…we are all WVU grads. We are transplanted West Virginians…proud to call it home after all these years in PA.
Among Mountaineers!
Judy Leput

Two years after finishing the MA program in English at WVU, I found myself teaching high school at Ft. Bragg, NC. Because I was the only instructor with any background in sign language, I was asked to teach two courses when the current teacher left. My students were flabbergasted when I told them they would need to learn to sign “Country Roads” as a class project. Many of them had never heard it and weren’t thrilled with my song choice. However, by the end of the semester, I would hear groups of my students break out with “Almost heaven, West Virginia . . . ” in the hallway or in the lunchroom, their fingers animated with the words. While not an exotic place, this high school in NC was definitely a strange place to hear these rap-lovin’ teenagers belting out John Denver!

Rhonda Mize Sullivan
MA ‘93

When my mother was pregnant with me, the song had recently been released. She used to sing it to me as an infant every day, even though we lived far away in Philadelphia and had no ties to the Mountain State at the time. All the singing must have sunken in, as when it was time to choose a college, Almost Heaven came calling.

For spring break 1988 I went to London with a group of students as part of an English course at WVU. One night, my friend Lee-Ellen and I went to a pub and we happened to be wearing WVU sweatshirts. The bartender came over to our table and said he knew all about West Virginia. He asked us if we made our own moonshine! Anyway, he then went to the jukebox, forced the song that was currently playing to stop, and then selected Country Roads to play. Like others have written before me, he too knew all the words.

One evening I was sitting at a pub in Amsterdam with my husband and two other WVU alumni, when “Country Roads” started playing on the jukebox. They knew all the words, and Dutch girls were arm in arm with their friends swaying back and forth singing out so passionately you could have assumed they were right there at the Mountaineer football games beside you. I doubt any of them know that West Virginia is a state, has a college, or where it is. Yet, the song still triggers the same emotions as it does for us Mountaineerers.

Small world! My wife and I were visiting Dublin and desired to enjoy some Irish folk singing and Irish dancing in a Dublin Pub. Surprising a WVU grad would frequent such establishments. Low and behold, the first song we heard was “Country Home”.

My children are Texans, but know that their roots run deep in West Virginia. My husband and I left WV (after fabulous WVU educations) and moved to Houston, TX. We have created a wonderful life here. We still have property in WV and make at least two trips home a year – one we always drive. When we start the drive trip, the first song requested to start the trip is Country Roads… we all sing together… It is heart warming to know my that this legacy has been passed on to the next generation. I will say that I have a new WV song added to our listening pleasure. The Davisson Brothers from Clarksburg, WV have a song called “Big City Hillbilly” and it is on iTunes now. Love to listen to it from our Houston downtown Hi-Rise. (WVU flags at all our properties.) Thanks for sharing with us.

I was at a wedding in Peoria, IL on June 21, 2008. The parents of the groom were WVU graduates in addition to myself. About 3/4’s through the wedding reception, the DJ played Country Roads. All the WVU grads and people that grew up in WV gathered in the center of the dance floor, arms interlocked, and sang Country Roads at the top of our lungs. What an experience, it was a very special moment. The folks from the Peoria area just stood back and watched in amazement!

I just saw the notice for stories about “what ‘Country Roads’ means to you” in the WVU Alumni Magazine, so I’m sending along my own story. I hope it’s not too late to share it with someone, because as a native West Virginian and a WVU grad, this song means so much to me. And in fact, I collect memories related to this song, from around the world.

For me, the most vivid and lasting memories tied to “Country Roads” happened when I’ve been farthest away from Morgantown and West Virginia. I’ve lived and studied or worked in Europe, most often in Germany, a number of times, both as a WVU student and afterwards. And almost every time I’ve been in Europe, “Country Roads” has appeared in the most unsuspecting places. This includes hearing the song on a ski slope in Austria; in the packed downtown Viktualienmarkt of Munich
during their Lenten carnival; several times in Berlin (in the middle of one of the world’s largest gay pride parades, at an international beer festival; in a neighborhood Irish Pub where I thanked the musicians
profusely for that song); and at a marine festival in the Polish port town of Szczecin. Every time, I just couldn’t help but break out singing excitedly, and I jumped at the chance to share the thrill of having a piece of “my West Virginia” and “my song” with local strangers and friends. Some caught a bit of my enthusiasm, many didn’t, but all recognized the connection between the song and the state. (“You are
from West Virginia? Yes of course I know West Virginia; this is the place in ‘Country Roads’!”) Regardless, that song takes me immediately back to home football games, fall hikes at Coopers Rock, the holiday
lights of Woodburn Circle, the Wine and Jazz and Balloon Festivals, and so many other aspects of WVU and West Virginia that I’m in love with.

And it emphasizes that, well beyond West Virginia’s borders, people across Europe can appreciate a great song when they hear it!

Thanks for this opportunity to share some of my love of WV, of “Country Roads,” and of its international journey!

Alison Behling
Class of December 2003, BA in International Studies/German, BA in Environmental Geoscience

You won’t believe it, but it happened! I don’t remember what year it was, but my wife and I were touring the South Pacific. We were in Fiji and our tour company hired a small boat to take us out to a small island for native entertainment.

While on the boat, a native was playing a homemade gadget; it was a metal drum with a movable rod sticking up which then had a cord attached to it at the top and then down the drum at an angle. He got his tones by moving the rod back and forth and plucking on the cord.

And, what was he playing? Country Roads. Of course we all joined in the singing. When he was through, I said, “Play it again Sam!”

My wife and I both grew up in Morgantown and are proud WVU graduates. At the age of 93, I now live in Boulder, Colorado and am looking forward to attending the WVU-Colorado game!

Benny Casseletti
Boulder, Colo.

I was reading the latest WVU Alumni Magazine and came across the article about the many places people have heard “Country Roads”. I travel quite alot these days and wanted to share a story of my own about “Country Roads”.

Last August my girlfriend and I took a trip to visit with her parents in the small town of Shima, Japan. Shima is located on the southern island of Kyushu outside of the city of Fukuoka. During the trip her Grandmother turned 88 years old. To celebrate this occasion the entire family came out to Shima for a barbeque. A small grill was set up and mass quantities of fresh seafood, chicken, Kobe beef, vegetables, and of course coolers full of a wide selection of Japanese beer; Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi, and Suntory. So right away I was feeling at home. During the course of the evening after everyone had eaten their fill and were well into the beer coolers, the next door neighbor brought out his guitar and began to play for everyone. The first song played was a local favorite about the village of Shima, so of course everyone started to sing along (although singing would certainly be a stretch to describe my efforts). After a couple more songs, and many more beers, the neighbor looked over at me and gave a sly wink, then proceeds to play the opening chords of Country Roads! I was absolutely stunned!! After the first verse had been sung in all it’s heavily accented and slightly mauled glory, I regained my composure enough to leap right into the chorus. I was so engrossed in the beauty and novelty of the moment that it took me a little while to realize that as I was singing along, so were several other people there.

While I don’t get homesick very often anymore in my travels, I felt a wave of something approaching homesickness, in that I yearned to have my Morgantown friends right beside me, fresh from a homefield victory, to listen in awe to these wonderful people singing this song that means so much to all native West Virginians. It was truly a beautiful thing to witness, and an experience that I will carry with me till the end of my days.

Thank you for letting me share this story with you, and perhaps after my visit to Southeast Asia this summer I’ll have another to share! Take care.

Vincent Sylvester,
‘99, bachelor’s in sociology and anthropology) & ‘05, bachelor’s degree in theatre design and technology
Lindside, WV

John Denver, That Song, and One Mountie

One Friday night in the autumn of 1970, my friends Gary Tabor and Dennis Walsh and I, members of a college folk music group, listened intently to a local duo called Fat City performing folk music at The Cellar Door. This small half-underground music club, then at 34th & M Street in Washington D.C., attracted students seeking respite from a tense national atmosphere dominated by the struggles surrounding resistance to the Viet Nam War and support for Civil rights, Women rights and the environmental movement.

When Fat City completed a fine set of their own songs, a relatively unknown traveling troubadour came to a stage the size of a dining room table some 20 feet from us. He had a mop of blond hair, hippie-style wire glasses, and a smile that lit the darkened space like a chandelier. Though we knew his name as the guy who had written some songs sung by Peter, Paul and Mary and other more famous folk singers, we had never seen John Denver. Despite a cumbersome metal splint on one of his fingers, he captivated the room with his beautiful songs and down-home, friendly banter. Then he told us that he was working on an album, and needed to add another song or two to finish it.

“Last night I was with Fat City—Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert—and told me they were working on a song about getting away from the city hassle here in D.C. and going to West Virginia,” John said. “They asked if I would help them with it. Well, we finished the song, and I’d like to ask them to come back on stage and help me sing it for you guys. If you like it, I’ll put it on the album!”

The song they sang, for the first time ever in public, was “Take Me Home Country Roads.” I like to think we helped John in his career that night by giving him a vigorous endorsement for him to add it to his pending album. That night’s arrangement and performance by the trio of Bill, Taffy and John mirrored exactly its eventual recording on cut one, side two of John Denver’s break-out album, “Poems, Prayers and Promises.” Within a few months of that night, John Denver and That Song emerged from the folk-music-based counter culture to re-connect a divided America with the hope and joy of nature and humanity that define the American character. In so doing, John and That Song even managed to re-connect America with an alienated world.

The crisp, autumn-colored day buzzed with the kind of energy that only a West Virginia University homecoming football game can produce. It was 1973, my first year as a transfer student to the revered WVU School of Journalism and my first immersion into the spicy, bubbling student soup that sloshed in the cauldron of the old Mountaineer Field, then located just a few blocks uphill from Martin Hall.

The stadium during half time showcased mass confusion theater as a profusion of young band musicians in dozens of multi-colored uniforms swirled onto the field like paint chips in a whirlpool.

“What is this? A re-enactment of the Battle of Austerlitz?” my buddy Rick Walsh and fellow world history student asked.

“It’s Band Day here at Mountaineer Field!” the half-time announcer blared through a thousand loud speakers, right on cue as if responding to Rick’s query. “Marching Bands from high schools all across the Mountain State are joining ranks here to set a record as the largest single band to perform West Virginia’s unofficial state song!” A few moments later—just 3 years after I had first heard it sung by John, Taffy and Bill—way more than just 76 trombones led scores of other instruments and tens of thousands of Mountie voices singing out the loudest version of Take Me Home Country Roads,” ever heard. That chorus resonates in my ears to this day. The image of that field lives in a Technicolor tattoo on the inside of my eyelids when I close my eyes.

In September 1989, John Denver joined the many people who came to Alaska in response to the environmentally devastating Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in March of that year. A frequent visitor to Alaska and ardent environmentalist, John had offered to do a fundraising concert in Anchorage, where I was then employed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Since my wife was on the Alaska board of the National Wildlife Federation, which co-hosted the event, she got us both back stage passes for after the show.

After his inspiring concert, we adjourned to the back stage room where John was already exchanging pleasant small talk with a dozen or so of his admiring fans from Alaska’s environmental community. When I had my opportunity to shake his hand and briefly chat with him, I told him that I had seen him at the Cellar Door some 20 years earlier—the night he debuted Take Me Home Country Roads. At the mention of the song and the place, John’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

“Far Out!” he yelled. “You were there??!! Hey, Frank!” he called across the room, keeping a tight grasp on my hand as if he had found a long lost friend. “This guy was at the Cellar Door the night of Country Roads!” Then, turning back to me, he explained that Frank, with him on this Alaska trip, has also been at the Cellar Door that pivotal night.

My Alaskan friends looked on in disbelief at my unexpected connection with the now legendary musician, John Denver, as he began enthusiastically recalling details of the event he and I had shared. He recalled that he had broken his finger earlier that week in a car accident that had sent his then wife, Annie, to the hospital briefly. He and Annie had been unwinding by playing bridge with Bill and Taffy of Fat City on Thursday night, the night they asked him to help with the bridge and chorus of the song, which he sang the next night for my friends and me. John also reminded me that his friends Bill and Taffy also had another hit, “Afternoon Delight,” which they sang as members of the Star Land Vocal Band in the late 1970s. John made me feel like he was indeed my long lost friend.

During the next few years, my friends Dennis and Gary always found time for a song during our visits. One song we stopped singing, though, was “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” By then, lots of people thought it too sappy, and John Denver’s wholesome persona did not fit with the increasing cynicism of the 80’s and 90’s. Dennis’ daughter had grown sick of it when she was living in Mongolia, where she heard it slaughtered by well-meaning singer wannabes in every karaoke club in Ulan Batar.
One afternoon in 2003, while we were traveling with family in Clifton, Ireland, Dennis and I were enjoying a Guinness with Damien, a local denizen of Clifden, County Galway, in E.J. Kings pub.

When our new friend learned of our interest in music, he invited to us play a few songs when the house band took a break. We did not want to miss this wonderful opportunity to sing in an Irish pub, but I must admit we were intimidated to play music in the only country in the world whose national symbol is a musical instrument! We were nervous that we might goof up any song we played on short notice, so we decided to do songs we thought would be so obscure to this tiny rural Irish audience that they would not even know if we made a mistake.

We earned polite applause with the first two songs we sang, which seemed to blend well enough with the atmosphere of lively pub chatter and laughter the Irish call “craiq.” Our third and final song, however, was apparently not obscure to this crowd. As soon as we reached the end of the first phrase for that song, “Almost heaven, West Virginia?” the pub grew quiet with interest and listening, and by the chorus, the ENTIRE pub was singing along—coming “home” with us to West Virginia, and concluding the performance with rousing cheers and applause!

For the next four years, Gary and Dennis and I and the other members of our string band, True North, have been honored to be invited guests for the Clifden Arts Festival, playing Americana music in various venues around County Galway. Playing in locales ranging from pubs, to golf courses to schools, and on local radio, the song which has been most requested and most well received is West Virginia’s “unofficial” state song.
As a WVU grad, I cannot describe how proud I have felt to hear the many voices joining us everywhere we sing this song. Voices from schools from high schools down to 2nd graders, and in retirement homes including an Irish woman in her 90s, join us each time we have sung one of the most popular songs in the world, praising my West Virginia.

I, along with every other West Virginian, owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the memory of the late John Denver for building with this song a well traveled, symbolic bridge between our beloved Mountain State, and the rest of America, and the rest of the world. This song has become THE coming home song for the entire world of people who, when they yearn for their homes in their hearts, raise their voices in a song about our wild, wonderful, and mystical West Virginia.

Bruce Batten, ‘73 BSJ, ‘77 MA
Eagle River, AK

This is in response to the article in the alumni magazine asking to share your Country Roads stories…

My wife, Cindy Drumm, and I are both alums (me earning a BS 1998 and she a BSW 1995, MSW 2000 and MPA 2000) and we have a 21 month-old son named Jake. Since Jake was born, we have been singing Country Roads to him before bed in addition to his other lullabies. It has become his favorite lullaby now, and we know this because we will ask him what song he wants to sing going through several of them to his displeasure. When we start to sing Country Roads, he will give us a “yes” and it is almost always the one that puts him to sleep. Another favorite is the humming of Simple Gifts. Obviously we are doing our best to plant the “Go to WVU” seed in his head at an early age.

We recently moved back to Morgantown after being away for six years. We both found employment at WVU where we hope to stay and are thrilled to be back home closer to our families and working for the University we love. Thanks for allowing me to share our Country Roads story and I hope others have done the same. This was a great idea.

Greg Goodwin
Class of 1998
Morgantown, WV

It was 1997 and we were celebrating my birthday. I was with a former classmate from Germany and some of his friends at Oktoberfest in Munich. After riding the rides and seeing the sights, we went into a beer hall for beers and Bavarian food. The tables were long, people were dancing on the benches, and an oompah band was playing and entertaining probably two thousand people. After about 30 minutes, the band suddenly started playing that favorite tune, with accordions, horns, and other typical oompah band music. Of course I stood on the bench at our
table and started belting out the words as the band played.

To this day, I have no idea why an oompah band in Liederhosen in a beer hall 5,000 miles from Morgantown would be playing Country Roads, but this WVU alum felt immediately at home.

Andrew Urbaczewski
WVU MBA 1992

Recently, I was in San Antonio on business. After a long day of meetings, I went to the Irish pub in the hotel in which I was staying on the Riverwalk. I sat at a table in the back next to a power outlet so that I could work on e-mails and other business while enjoying the live music and peanuts. I guess that in a business suit, with a computer, it was a challenge. After singing Oh Danny Boy, Deep in the Heart of Texas, Cockles & Mussels, McNamera’s Band, Tipperary, and others, the singer asked what I would like to hear.

I suggested Country Roads. He began playing it immediately and the entire place burst out in song. I had to hide the tears.

Forever a Mountaineer,
Connie Carroll
BS, Chemistry, WVU 1980

I never attended WVU but have strong ties to my state and Morgantown. I’m retired Navy and was a recruiter in Morgantown 1989-1992. I attend all home games and bowl games.
Being in the Navy for 20 years I have heard and sang Country Roads in several places. Ones that stand out are Dubrovnik, Croatia, Izmir, Turkey, and Olongapo, Philippines.

An early morning ocean breeze ruffled what was left of my hair, as I cruised down Highway 1 in my 63’ Chevy Impala; with the radio blaring. I was stationed at Ft. Ord, and the year was 1971. When the D.J. said, “here’s one for the boys away from home.”, I pushed back the water. As the words, “take me home, Country Roads” squealed across the airwaves, I envisoned the smell of Mom’s fried chicken and fresh baked bread. I wanted to turn east, and never look back. Many years later, I attended WVU-P and earned over 45 credits before moving on to seminary training. My loyalty to West Virginia and WVU remains strong, and I choose to live in the State of my birth. I am a native Mountaineer, and will be until God removes the “almost” from my heaven.

I grew up in Arthurdale, spent three years at WVU and , even though I graduated from Penn, still consider WVU as “my school”. Country Roads is my cell phone ring and my email address reflects the close connection I still have with WV. My sons and their families also share that connection and look forward each year to visiting Arthurdale and driving through WVU.
A few years ago I ran across two recent WVU grads while salmon fishing on the Alaska Kenai River; WV folks go out of their way to say “hi” and chat about WVU.

After graduating WVU, my friends and I always played Country Roads as we drove either to or from Morgantown on alumni weekends. However, my most unusual Country Roads story-on a vacation to London, England, I stumbled into a small pub about 20 minutes outside of London where an Irish band was playing. As soon as we walked in, sat down, and ordered our first pint, oddly enough the band started playing Country Roads. And the whole bar sang along! I’d never been so proud.

I just saw the notice for stories about “what ‘Country Roads’ means to you” in the WVU Alumni Magazine, so I’m sending along my own story. I hope it’s not too late to share it with someone, because as a native West Virginian and a WVU grad, this song means so much to me. And in fact, I collect memories related to this song, from around the world.

For me, the most vivid and lasting memories tied to “Country Roads” happened when I’ve been farthest away from Morgantown and West Virginia. I’ve lived and studied or worked in Europe, most often in Germany, a number of times, both as a WVU student and afterwards.

And almost every time I’ve been in Europe, “Country Roads” has appeared in the most unsuspecting places. This includes hearing the song on a ski slope in Austria; in the packed downtown Viktualienmarkt of Munich
during their Lenten carnival; several times in Berlin (in the middle of one of the world’s largest gay pride parades, at an international beer festival, and in a neighborhood Irish Pub where I thanked the musicians
profusely for that song);and at a marine festival in the Polish port town of Szczecin. Every time, I just couldn’t help but break out singing excitedly, and I jumped at the chance to share the thrill of having a piece of “my West Virginia” and “my song” with local strangers and friends. Some caught a bit of my enthusiasm, many didn’t, but all recognized the connection between the song and the state. (“You are
from West Virginia? Yes of course I know West Virginia; this is the place in ‘Country Roads’!”)

Regardless, that song takes me immediately back to home football games, fall hikes at Coopers Rock, the holiday
lights of Woodburn Circle, the Wine and Jazz and Balloon Festivals, and so many other aspects of WVU and West Virginia that I’m in love with. And it emphasizes that, well beyond West Virginia’s borders, people across Europe can appreciate a great song when they hear it!

Thanks for this opportunity to share some of my love of WV, of “Country Roads,” and of its international journey!

Alison Behling
‘03 BA, International Studies/German and Environmental Geoscience

While no one in my family has attended WVU, I, like many who have close associations with the state, grew up there with many fond memories, and love the sports team that

Recently my sister and I were visiting our father’s village in rural India, a place where running water or refrigerators don’t exist. Anyways, we visited his old high school, the one where he had donated some to build a new wing.

We visited a class where we talked about life in US and signed some autographs (seriously). They then sang us a song in their language, and asked us to sing them a song. My sister and I couldn’t think of anything other than, guess what, “Country Roads”.

I arrived in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on a fall day in 1991. After unpacking, I was ready to explore the village. It was a short walk to the main street of this small town which is the capitol of this principality. As I rounded a corner I was greeted by a band playing “Country Roads”. It was my first trip to Liechtenstein, but I immediately felt like they knew I was coming and wanted to give me a proper welcome. It was a moving and memorable experience indeed!

I enjoyed your article about the song Country Roads. I grew up in Charleston and was at WVU in the 70’s and early 80’s.

I was in France in 1977, spending a semester in Strasbourg. The night before I was to return to WV, I went to a restaurant with a group of friends. A strolling singer with a guitar entered the restaurant. He sang mostly in French and we weren’t paying much attention to him until he walked over to our table and started singing Country Roads, in English. It was like he knew that I was about to go home to West Virginia!

In the early 70’s I was at Mount Holyoke College in Massachussetts. I often attended shows of Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys, a bluegrass group. They were based in Boston but Stover was from WV. At the end of each show they played Country Roads. The mostly-student crowd seemed to love the song but I think I was the only one in the room who knew all the words.

I’m now a public school Spanish teacher in Pittsburgh.
Elise

Traveling abroad with a scholarship program from Wayne, West Virginia, my son, Park, and his entourage entered an Italian lounge. As they spoke with the owner and employees, they inquired where they were from. When the group told the club owner they were from West Virginia, he went to the band to request a song.

Immediately, that old familiar song began. On the second verse, another group of senior travelers entered. Park’s group yelled, “Where are you from?” Their reply as if by magic, was “Martinsburg, West Virginia!!!”

They all joined together in song, thousands of miles from home, but united by ‘Country Roads’.

I don’t know what your original intent was but the song country roads touched more people than wvu alumni.
I grew up in Monroe county and joined the Air Force at an early age. I left the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in 1973 and was assigned to a security detachment in northern turkey. One day I was listening to AFRTS (armed forces radio & television service) and heard that song for the first time. I can’t begin to express what it meant to a young gi some 14 thousand miles from home near the Russian border and more than a little homesick to begin with.

Ray Smith
USAF RETIRED
Aurora,Co

I am generally not much of a blogger, but this string caught my eye. I was traveling with a special ops group while in the Navy in 2002 and ended up in Marmaris, Turkey around the 4th of July. We were at a hotel bar fronting the Mediterranean along with a bunch of Brits and Russians. We had been away from home for a few months and then Country Roads began playing. That song never sounded so good. I found it more amazing that most of the 100 or so people in the establishment knew the words and had no quams about singing it very loudly. I was very elated as well as proud and I am sure that John Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (the writers) would have been just as ecstatic.

Aaron Cox
AA (94)
MBA (08)

Darkness comes slowly onto the icy barren tundra of northern Kazakhstan. The hazy glow of the sun is eventually enveloped by the frozen horizon. I’ve come here for six months to accompany my finance with his work in the capital city of Astana. We’ve only arrived into the country a few days ago, after about 30 hours of travel from our home in South Florida. About 200 miles from the Chinese and Russian borders, which encase the mysterious lands of Mongolia and Siberia, our new home couldn’t be more different from our home in Florida.

With the 11 hour time difference between Kazakhstan and the East Coast of the US, the days pass, but I still find myself staying up all night long, reading, surfing channels on the TV, surfing the internet. Some days I begin to drift off only after sunrise and my return from the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

It is one of these days, jet-lagged and a blurry eyed, that my fiance and I stumble across a neon light flashing letters of an alphabet which we recognize. The advertised establishment is a cozy English pub appropriately called North Wind. We dart inside quickly to escape the brutal north wind that has been bearing down on us for the duration of our wintery walk. Happy to receive menus in a language that we can read, and also happy to read an offering of food that seems familiar to us, we order a pizza, a Russian beet salad and a couple of beers.

Slowly we begin to warm up from the frigid temperatures outside and enjoy the pub’s entertainment, while we await our meal. A large Kazak woman is seated behind a piano, playing a vast assortment of songs. Latin salsa to Russian folk music: she seems to cover the spectrum. But it is one particular song that grabs my attention. A familiar chorus evokes memories of a simpler time; memories of home. The singer’s heavily accented English cannot mask the unmistakable lyrics…. “almost heaven, West Virginia, take me home country roads”... It was just about the time that our beers arrive that I begin to feel a lot more comfortable in my new home in Central Asia, and things suddenly start to seem a lot less exotic.