Lately I’ve been kind of obsessed with John Denver. Now, before you go thinking that John Denver sucks, allow me to say, I know. Believe me…growing up in the 70s, John Denver on the radio was like community-sanctioned child abuse.
(That’s one of the interesting things about music: even the greatest songs, played too much, can, at best, lose appeal, and, at worse, drive you nuts.)
But a few weeks ago PBS showed a special about John Denver. (This was during their pledge week, when they pull out all the old music to tug on the heart- and purse-strings of their Boomer donor demographic.) Suddenly childhood memories were washing over me in his melodies–from the early 70s when I was 3 or 4, through to the end of the decade.
And I had to appreciate again that John Denver kind of kicks ass. There is definitely a reason he was so insanely popular.
In the tv documentary they mentioned the amazing honesty in his voice.
Of course his was a brilliant songwriter, as "Leaving on a Jet Plane," showed, which Peter, Paul and Mary first made a hit. The rhymes in the lines, "Now the dawn is breaking/It’s early morn/The taxi’s waiting/He’s blowing his horn," are both tightly constructed and perfectly natural.
Other times his lyrics could be more than a tad cheesy; schmaltzy; cliche.
Another comment from the documentary that stuck with me was that "Sunshine On My Shoulder," which in many ways is a positive and even uplifting song, also has a hint of sadness, melancholy and loss in it. Something about the ways he sings it slow, in addition to the melody and the "if I had…" lyrics.
Listening to the song today, I’m struck by how says "sunshine almost always" instead of saying ‘sunshine always makes me smile.’ And he ends the song not with a full chorus, that would have ended on "smile", but with an abbreviated chorus, so the song ends with the three words "sunshine almost always," which is kind of poingant.
Sometimes I think that much of life contains this intoxicating mixture of beauty and sadness. Great art captures this. One reason I love traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry, such as haiku, is that it often contains this melancholy blend of tenderness and longing.
About Drew Dellinger
Drew Dellinger, Ph.D., is an internationally known speaker, poet, writer, and teacher whose keynotes and poetry performances—which address ecology, justice, cosmology, and connectedness—have inspired minds and hearts around the world. He is also a consultant, filmmaker, and founder of Planetize the Movement.
Dellinger has presented at over 1400 events across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. He has spoken and performed at numerous conferences—including TEDWomen, Bioneers, the Green Festival, the Dream Reborn, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions—as well as colleges and universities, poetry venues, protests, and places of worship.
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