Talk:Take Me Home, Country Roads

Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart was not a Hayao Miyazaki film it was actually made by his apprentice see the article at Whisper of the Heart, he was a producer Rgoodermote 18:50, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

West Virginia

I don't have anything to cite for this, but my impression was that the was refering to west Virginia, not West Virginia. As this entry mentions, that is where the Shenadoah river and the Blue Ridge Mountains are. PerlKnitter (talk) 17:31, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Traveling US 340 from Maryland, you pass through West Virginia right where you cross the Shenandoah River. The Blue Ridge Mountains rise steeply on your left and the trees drape the road as you travel. No matter what the season it is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Whether it's winter and the snow blankets the area or spring with the lilacs in bloom, I never fail to be choked up as we cross the river. Bayoufever (talk) 21:54, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Covers

Isn't there a techno cover of this song too... I don't know the artist, but it is pretty popular at high school parties in Norway. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.139.246.107 (talk) 18:40, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Heard it in a club in Israel in summer 2004. Never been able to find it online 207.172.155.54 (talk) 00:18, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Ray Charles did a cover of this, it's the 8th track of Message From The People.

Why is most famous world-wide cover, Toots and the Maytalls' reggaeized version, released in 1973 in Jamaica and then again in the US and rest of the world in 75, not listed? I'm using a phone now, showing some folks that it was actually written by the couple who are more famous for Afternoon Delight, noone ever believes tha, but when I have the time and get to something more useful, I will add it in. And this article is protected?? It looks like it's essentially -been- vandalized already,by someone who loves Brithouse.... SmarterAlec (talk) 07:56, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

You may well be here from this recent episode of Soul Music, like I am. I for one didn't know about this cover, but it is indeed very interesting. It was removed in this edit in March 2018, per the song covers guideline. I don't know if that episode would be the best source to add it back, but I'm sure refs are out there. Graham87 15:32, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

Signature Song?

I've always thought of "Rocky Mountain High" as Denver's signature song. Does anyone have a reference more authoritative than one person's opinion on a trading site? Heck, I'd even consider this poll a better reference, as it's at least more than one person. Darguz Parsilvan (talk) 11:33, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree. The line that Darguz is referring to says

It is considered to be Denver's signature song, and is widely regarded as one of his best songs of all time.

It is certainly the song I personally associate most with him, but I'm sure millions of other people would say Rocky Mountain High was his signature song. The source used to support this has absolutely no standing as a reliable source. I'm going to remove the first half of the sentence unless a better source can be found soon to support the claim. Unschool 01:33, 5 November 2020 (UTC)

The "Country Road" mentioned

The song is actually (as I recall) about Route 118, not 117. 118 is a long road that wound through the rural (back then, anyway) parts of Maryland. 117 is a short road that, in effect, leads nowhere. It runs from Route 28 NW of Poolesville, to 355 in Gaithersburg. As to the song referring to west Virginia instead of West Virginia, Virginia is no "stranger to blue water" (a reference to the ocean) nor a "miner's lady," at least not to the degree that West Virginia is known for it's mining industry. The references to the Blue Ridge mountains and the Shenandoah River can be attributed to poetic license, as there were several rewrites from the rough version Bill & Taffy presented to John Denver. The Shenandoah does have a confluence with the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry, a place that can be reached by starting out on Route 118. Hope this helps clear up any confusion, and feel free to correct any misinformation I've presented. 69.205.113.102 (talk) 23:08, 1 March 2011 (UTC)Thor

Bill Danoff's website says it was indeed Clopper Road: "'Take Me Home, Country Roads' was inspired by a drive to a family reunion in Gaithersburg along Clopper Road -- which back then was still a country road." (URL added as a reference to the main page). Michael D. Sullivan (talk) 22:10, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know if the songwriters had ever even been to WV at the time they wrote the song. Part of the history is that Nivert was influenced by "an artist friend, who used to write to him about ...West Virginia ...." 2601:142:101:2BC5:14C5:169E:49BA:9770 (talk) 13:25, 15 November 2015 (UTC)

another cover

There's a (70's I think/70s style country) cover by Freddy Quinn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyoNOl24KHs & http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1405568 109.224.137.121 (talk) 19:45, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

American Dad

This song was also sung by Stan Smith and his band of illegal Mexican immigrants in an episode of the American Dad cartoon. It should be added to the Use in popular culture section. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ilikeguys21 (talk • contribs) 17:03, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

There was also a very "interesting" rendition of the song by Mark Strong in Kingsman: Golden Circle. Dangerously close to being trivia, but I suppose if we include one we should include the other. --Legis (talk - contribs) 08:55, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

John Denver never performed at Morgantown High School in 1977 or any other year

I attended Morgantown High from 1977-1980, and my sister graduated from Morgantown High in 1977. I know many people who were at Morgantown high all through the 70's and 80's including an assistant principle, and all of them say John Denver never performed there. The citation in the Wiki article is to a Daily Atheneum article from 2016. This is the student-run newspaper of West Virginia. The DA article, which was almost certainly written by a student, provides no citations for its "facts" about the song. The statement that Denver performed the song at Morgantown High School in 1977 needs to be removed unless some other proof that this actually happened is provided. Marknlaura (talk) 04:55, 3 January 2019 (UTC)

I think I understand your concern. That said, your approach is a bit off.

What you or anyone else who was at the school remembers and comes here to tell us is irrelevant. Personal recollections of individuals simply hold no weight here.

Instead, everything in the article must be verifiable -- it much come from a source that fits our criteria for a reliable source. If the source is reliable, it does not need to "prove" what it says or provide citations for it. We could debate the merits of that source, but I think there's a better question: WP:WEIGHT.

Assuming for the moment that the source is reliable (and go ahead and assume it's accurate as well), is this material meaningful? Would we actually consider listing every performance of every song we can verify, along with changes to lyrics made to appeal to the particular audience? If we did, the article for "Born to Run" or "The Star Spangled Banner" would need to be considerably longer. Denver performed the song as a school once and added in a bit of local flavor. So what?

I'm removing the material. If anyone disagrees, feel free to revert me and we can talk it out. - SummerPhD^v2.0 12:43, 3 January 2019 (UTC)

Subject of song

"Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver about the beauty of the U.S. state of West Virginia.

The song words say nothing like that. It was previously asserted that "Sweet Home Alabama" was about "natural beauty". Are you people complete nerds? Do you understand anything? Or is this just a stock response? All songs that refer to places are about "natural beauty". Is this written by robots?--Jack Upland (talk) 08:33, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

WP:SOFIXIT. You need not determine anything about anyone who wrote any of this to make it better. Remove unsourced material. Add sourced material. Improve writing. Clarify. If anyone disagrees, they'll let you know. - SummerPhD^v2.0 16:02, 21 December 2019 (UTC)

"Forever Country"

There's no mention in this article of this song's use in the mashup "Forever Country," which went to #1 on the country chart. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mooveeguy (talk • contribs) 17:19, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

If you have a source demonstrating its use was significant to the history of this song, add it and cite the source. Otherwise, it's kinda like Nixon being a minor character in a popular TV show, movie or novel: possibly important to that work, but not worth mentioning in Richard Nixon. - SummerPhD^v2.0 17:47, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

I don't know if it might be worth enough to be significant but here the official clip of "Forever Country" who have the lyrics at the beginning of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gAXwYZtfk --Sd-100 (talk) 00:37, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

I think it's worth mentioning, as this song was the most prominent of those used in the mash-up.--Jack Upland (talk) 07:37, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

Cover Versions, again

Roy Acuff recorded this. Smoky Mountain Memories, 1975. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.128.44.44 (talk) 06:15, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

Update: I added a section for this. As-yet missing a source for the album/year released. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.128.44.44 (talk) 06:33, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

The same article from two sources

The first two sources cited in the "Composition" section are the same article, originally in The Baltimore Sun and later distributed by the Associated Press.

Kaltenbach, Chris (2019-04-17). "Mountain mama! John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' was inspired by Maryland, not West Virginia". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-05-08.

Kaltenbach, Chris (2019-05-15). "It was Maryland that inspired 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'". AP News. Retrieved 2020-05-08.

Should the two sources be combined or not? -- Pemilligan (talk) 01:01, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

Yes. Use the earliest one.--Jack Upland (talk) 07:31, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

Eastern Panhandle

The Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River in West Virginia are only to be found in the far Eastern Panhandle. This is the portion that is drained into the Chesapeake Bay via the Potomac River. The remainder of the state is in the Ohio watershed. Heff01 (talk) 04:16, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 August 2021

The song is about an old Country road in Montgomery County MD called Clopper Rd, and has nothing to do with West Virginia. Source here in interview with John Denver himself. https://wtop.com/dc/2020/12/real-story-behind-take-me-home-country-roads-debut-50-years-ago-in-dc-club/ 2806:10AE:13:7382:609E:B225:3751:1D2C (talk) 16:21, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 16:37, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

Western Virginia vs. West Virginia

One (likely) or more people keep vandalizing this article attempting to claim that the song, despite having the lyric 'West Virginia' in it, is really about Western Virginia. The claims have been that the Shenandoah River doesn't run through West Virginia, and neither do the Blue Ridge Mountains. Both claims are provably false. The Blue Ridge Mountains do in fact run through West Virginia, as is shown on the article on them. The Shenandoah River also runs through the state as well, as can clearly be seen at this Google Maps link. The attempts to vandalize this article to state the song is about Western Virginia instead of West Virginia will always be reverted. Whomever is doing this, please stop wasting our time and yours. Thank you, --Hammersoft (talk) 00:54, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

• Happened again today [1]. Barring some presentation of reliable, secondary sources that attest to this song being about Western as opposed to West Virginia, this will keep on being reverted. You're wasting your time. --Hammersoft (talk) 18:05, 30 September 2021 (UTC)

Likewise, we would need a reliable source for this article to affirm that the song is about the state of West Virginia. Without a source for either claim, we cannot attribute the song to either. Onetwothreeip (talk) 03:48, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

The section "Composition" says that it is about West Virginia, and that is sourced.--Jack Upland (talk) 04:10, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

That section does not say that. It quotes the writer of the song saying it "didn’t have anything to do with Maryland or anyplace", and that the song was inspired by New England. Onetwothreeip (talk) 04:21, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Southern Living took a look at the dispute and said that John Denver was unfamiliar with both Virginia and West Virginia, and he assigned to West Virginia some of the surrounding features. So the song might have a larger region described, but it's still name-checking little ol' West Virginia, not the bigger state. The State of West Virginia includes the song as one of their state anthems, but Virginia does not.[2] I think the most we can do here is tell the reader that some people think it's talking about parts of Virginia near West Virginia, but most people acknowledge the West Virginia connection as valid. Binksternet (talk) 04:35, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

The song mentions features of Virginia, but this doesn't make the song about Virginia. Likewise, it's not necessarily about West Virginia despite the mention of the state in the song. The writer of the song strongly indicates that the song is primarily about Massachusetts, but states explicitly that the song isn't about any place in particular. I don't think we should mention that the song is "claimed" by people in Virginia or anywhere else, unless there is a reliable source indicating it's a notable claim. Onetwothreeip (talk) 05:00, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Well, I suppose Yesterday (Beatles song) is actually about scrambled eggs.--Jack Upland (talk) 05:50, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

User:Onetwothreeip, you have no support here or in the literature for your viewpoint. Don't change the article away from its focus on West Virginia. The most that can happen is to tell the reader about the minor viewpoint. Binksternet (talk) 05:54, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Binksternet The article mentions West Virginia, Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland as contributing influences to the song, which is what is discussed in reliable sources quoting the writer of the song. What is it that you or others disagree with either myself or the article about? Which minor viewpoint do you think the reader could be told about? Also, if it's not clear, I am fully against attributing the song to Virginia. Onetwothreeip (talk) 05:57, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Your reliable sources also say that the state of West Virginia is very plainly listed in the lyrics, and that most everybody considers the song to be about West Virginia. Sure, it has other things going on in terms of original inspiration and later interpretations, but the main story is West Virginia. Binksternet (talk) 06:05, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

I think all reliable sources would agree that West Virginia is explicitly mentioned in the lyrics of the song, and I gather that we both agree this fact should be included in the article. Is there a reliable source that considers "the song to be about West Virginia" though, or the "main story"? Editors have included in the lead sentence that the song is about Virginia and about West Virginia, and both times I removed those mentions for a lack of reliable sourcing of those claims. Onetwothreeip (talk) 06:10, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

I think your approach is unnecessarily pedantic.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:21, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

The reliable sources to support these claims do not have to say literally or pedantically what Binksternet or anybody else has said, they only have to be close enough that a reasonable person would agree the source supports the text. Onetwothreeip (talk) 09:24, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

And they do.--Jack Upland (talk) 09:31, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Please tell us which reliable sources consider the song to be about West Virginia. Onetwothreeip (talk) 10:03, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Just searching for this and among the first set of search results [3][4][5] it's clear they are talking about the state, and not a portion of Virginia. I don't think there's anyone out there who really thinks this song means western Virginia. The subject is obviously intentionally the state, even if the writers and Denver had never been to the state. They are referring to the state. --Hammersoft (talk) 00:15, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

The first source is apparently not available for "international" users, and the third source does not say anywhere that the song is about West Virginia. The second source says that "the country roads in the song" are in West Virginia, but none of these three sources would be considered reliable.

There are certainly people who think the song is about western Virginia, but this is not about whether the song is West Virginian or Virginian. We have multiple sources quoting the writer of the song stating that the song is not about any place in particular, despite West Virginia being the only state named in the song. This would be easily disproved by some reliable sources saying the song is about West Virginia. Onetwothreeip (talk) 10:42, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

• The point which I seemed to have failed make, and may fail again, is that the song was written about West Virginia in the minds of the authors of the song. They were looking for other state names to supplant the ones that didn't work. West Virginia did, a point made clear in the articles I linked. Ask a hundred people what the song is about and I'll lay very good money that at least 95 will say it's about the state, and not Western Virginia. That's what it was written about, that's what it's perceived to be about, that's what it's adopted to be about over its history. This is a ridiculous argument, and barring presentation that there intent was to write about Western Virginia, I fail to see any reason in any respect, whatsoever to change the intended addressment of this article. If you want to get it changed, start an WP:RFC. Failing that, it's not going to change. --Hammersoft (talk) 16:30, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

  I'm certainly not saying the song is about western Virginia and I reverted an edit from an editor inserting a claim that the song is about western Virginia into the article, because there are no reliable sources supporting that. Are there any reliable sources that claim "the song was written about West Virginia in the minds of the authors of the song"? Onetwothreeip (talk) 23:27, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for your reasonable deletion of western VA stuff. Regarding the song being about West Virginia, I don't think it requires the songwriters intention when so many observers name it as such. That said, I'm changing "about West Virginia" to "naming West Virginia" to be more accurate. Binksternet (talk) 00:02, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

I certainly approve including in the article that the song names West Virginia. No matter what the song is about however, we would need reliable sources to establish that. Onetwothreeip (talk) 05:18, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

@Onetwothreeip: Five times now [6][7][8][9][10] you have removed "about West Virginia" from the lede of the article in a slow burning edit war that began April 16 and continues to this day. Three editors (and shortly four, after I revert your non-consensus change) have reverted your addition. You are edit warring. It is quite clear you do not have consensus for this change. If you revert again, I will be making a request to have you partially blocked from making further edits to this article. Edit warring is not a means to an end. No matter how right you think you are, your actions are now the problem. --Hammersoft (talk) 17:53, 20 April 2022 (UTC) (and just to head off any potential controversy; while I am an administrator, I am not making any statement here in an administrator's capacity, as I am WP:INVOLVED in regards to this article)

I believe I have been trying to keep the article to a status quo where neither West Virginia nor western Virginia is mentioned in the first sentence, but I certainly do not wish to edit war so I will abstain from editing the article, leaving the mention of West Virginia as it is. To be clear, I am not in favour of attributing the song to being about western Virginia, despite the title of this talk page section, which I believe some editors have been confusing me for. I will start a new section to properly discuss this particular issue, leaving behind anything to do with western Virginia. Onetwothreeip (talk) 23:35, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

Endorsement by China’s leader, Deng Xiaoping

Glaring omission in wikipedia entries for this and the John Denver main page. Omitted is the song and Denver's connection to China: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/05/what-john-denver-means-some-asian-immigrants/618784/ Theaternearyou (talk) 19:24, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

Song subject

Following on from the previous discussion, and abandoning anything about whether the song is about western Virginia, there are two issues regarding the subject of the song. 1) Whether the song is about the state of West Virginia, and 2) where the subject of the song is described in the article.

To the first point, we simply do not have reliable sources stating that the song is about West Virginia. In fact, we have reliable sources stating that the song is not about any particular place, and is inspired by places in multiple American states including but not limited to West Virginia. This could be disproven by simply providing reliable sources stating that the subject of the song is West Virginia, but these do not appear to exist, and are contrary to the sources that exist in the article. There are, of course, sources that confirm the state of West Virginia is named in the song and there should be no controversy in reporting this in the article.

To the second point, we should not be describing the song in the first sentence of the article, and probably not the first paragraph either. Doing so would be contrary to our normal practices for music articles, regardless of the accuracy of the information. No matter what the song is about, we shouldn't be saying this in the first sentence.

I will wait for and invite discussion on these two points to have clarity on the article. Onetwothreeip (talk) 23:46, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

• I'd like to see the guideline that states we shouldn't be describing what the song is about in the lede. --Hammersoft (talk) 11:37, 21 April 2022 (UTC)

  Two things: MOS:1ST states Try to not overload the first sentence by describing everything notable about the subject [of the article]. Instead use the first sentence to introduce the topic, and then spread the relevant information out over the entire lead. Also precedent, I looked at other song articles and none that I saw included a summary of the song's synopsis.

  The first point, about the lack of reliable sources supporting that the song is about West Virginia, is much more important. We could potentially override style guide considerations, but we can't override the requirement that information in the article has to be supported by reliable sources. Onetwothreeip (talk) 22:17, 21 April 2022 (UTC)

I think the RS issue of the topic of the song is a WP:DEADHORSE. You're the only one who seems to think the song isn't about West Virginia. --Hammersoft (talk) 14:03, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

The article in the Composition section says the song is not about West Virginia, and is attributed to a source. There is currently a claim in the lead sentence that the song is about West Virginia, and it is not sourced. Onetwothreeip (talk) 21:28, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

If you want the song to not be about West Virginia, then start an RfC. Right now, the consensus is 100% against you. --Hammersoft (talk) 22:08, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

I'm asking for a reliable source from yourself or anybody stating that the song is about West Virginia, so that we don't need an RfC on the issue. Onetwothreeip (talk) 23:35, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

Seems like Sealioning to me.--Jack Upland (talk) 05:00, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

No, this is not targeted at any particular individual. If this cannot be resolved in this discussion, I intend on proceeding with RfC. Onetwothreeip (talk) 21:49, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

@Onetwothreeip: This is really quite tiresome. The very source you claim proves it's not about West Virginia can be read to prove it is about West Virginia. How about you come up with more reliable sources that support your assertion that it has nothing to do with West Virginia. I've reverted your cn addition as the later source proves it's about West Virginia. Please, by all means, STOP this senseless changing and changing and changing and changing and changing and changing of the article. Consensus is CLEARLY against you. ENOUGH. --Hammersoft (talk) 22:40, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

@Hammersoft: The very source you claim proves it's not about West Virginia can be read to prove it is about West Virginia. Which source is this? ...your assertion that it has nothing to do with West Virginia. This is a lie, I have never made this assertion, and I reject that assertion. I've reverted your cn addition as the later source proves it's about West Virginia. I presume you are referring to the same source that you allude to earlier? Please, by all means, STOP this senseless changing and changing and changing and changing and changing and changing of the article. This is the only time I have added a citation needed tag to the article, which you have reverted. I have honoured my earlier commitment not to change any claims in the article relating to the subject of the song (i.e. whether the song is about West Virginia). Onetwothreeip (talk) 22:58, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

It's pretty obvious at this point that you won't accept the consensus being 100% against you. I recommend you start your RfC. In almost all likelihood, it will not result in the result you want, but at least it will result. --Hammersoft (talk) 23:12, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

That's fine. In your previous comment you made a reference to a source. Which source were you referring to? Cheers. Onetwothreeip (talk) 23:30, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

It is western virginia

I read the opinions on this, but as I actually own farm in Shenandoah in western Virginia with west Virginia a short hike away trust me not some fool who would piss himself at the sight of a black bear and song of a coyote. The blue ridge mountains begin in front royal, virginia. That is where the road along the ridge (skyline drive) begins. Possibly some foothills extend into Maryland or west Virginia, but those aren't close to being mountains. The Shenandoah river is in Virginia. I kayak it regularly. Lots of small mouth bass. It flows north to the Potomac river. If it spends any time in west Virginia is irrelevant. I'm not about to Google map it as some city folk did. I know the river. The writer said inspiration came from trip to gaithersburg, Maryland. Nice place to commute to DC from. You can see foothills from there while speeding along an interstate nowadays. Anyway, matters not at all. Let west Virginia have one insignificant thing to cherish. 204.111.9.2 (talk) 02:59, 14 May 2022 (UTC)

• The problem is geographic fact is not on your side. It really doesn't matter if you find it irrelevant that the river runs through West Virginia. The FACT is that it does. It really doesn't matter if you think the Blue Ridge Mountains are just foothills in West Virginia. The FACT is that part of the Blue Ridge Mountains lie in West Virginia. Your owning a farm doesn't make you a recognized expert on the subject. Here, we rely on reliable, secondary sources. I realize the above was posted back in May by a now blocked IP. But, the article was changed (for the umpteenth time) today by an anon IP trying to revise geographical fact. Barring the presentation of reliable, secondary sources that the song is not about West Virginia, but Western Virginia, this will always be reverted. Please stop wasting your time and ours. This will never succeed. Nothing is accomplished on Wikipedia by brute force. --Hammersoft (talk) 00:46, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

  lol, I live in Front Royal and EVERYONE here takes this song as our anthem.

  Frankly, this talk page has completely unexamined reliance on the capitalized W of west.

  It's not a debate between West Virginia and western Virginia. Its about west Virginia versus West Virginia.

  And I'll accept brute force over the boorish scientific positivism that masquerades as objectivity throughout wikipedia. All Histories are "revisionist," and the residents of Shenandoah (which is in west Virginia by the way, regardless of Denver et al) will just keep on revising. 2601:5CF:8000:6B60:49DA:3BB2:3C5A:714C (talk) 12:45, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

And it will always be reverted. --Hammersoft (talk) 20:59, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 October 2022

there was no " disruptive editing" just going to Youtube John Denver Take Me Home Country Roads has 400 million views the most of any of his music! This very article says it has 1.5 million digital downloads! so you can leave out my revision and try to "protect" it from facts but just know your article is less accurate because of it. Next time ask for the source instead of declaring vandalism. DAEDRICH THE MAN TUCKER (talk) 19:49, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. - FlightTime (open channel) 19:50, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

I presume the above is in response to the removal of this. Any information on Wikipedia articles that needs a citation and doesn't have one may be removed. See our Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. No citation was provided to support the claim made. Going to YouTube to see how many views a given video has would count as original research. That's not how we work here. We use reliable, secondary sources to support claims made in articles. Using YouTube as a reference to support the claim doesn't help; there are multiple ways in which videos can be viewed, many of which have nothing to do with YouTube. Therefore, the claim based on YouTube data is insufficient even if we did use it (which we won't). Sorry, but if you want to include that statement you're going to need sources to back it up. If you have questions, let us know. --Hammersoft (talk) 23:25, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 November 2022

Change “Regional anthem” to “State anthem” 67.242.156.125 (talk) 00:26, 25 November 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: State anthem is a type of regional anthem. See List of U.S. state songs: Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. states have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem. TGHL ↗ 🍁 16:48, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

Controversy solved by Danoff

In 2020 songwriter Bill Danoff confirmed that the song is about West Virginia and not western Virginia.

On Wednesday I was marked wrong by a Quizmaster who claimed the song is about western Virginia.

I had never heard this and decided to check.

Because the Wikipedia article didn't mention this dispute I googled. I found many articles on reddit, YouTube and websites that claim (wrongly) that the song is about western Virginia.

I have now noted the discussions here in Talk, but feel the article itself should mention this controversy.

When the article doesn't mention it at all people are likely to go to Google and find the fake claim elsewhere spreading the belief in the myth.

Shouldn't Wikipedia make mention of this and put it to bed?

Danoff settled the case in 2020 and this is an extract from the NBC article.

" Danoff compares his writing process to filing out a crossword puzzle, and trying to find words and lines that fit. Over time he and Taffy would add lines.

'I’m a songwriter. I was looking for words. The words that I loved in that song were Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. They’re songwriter words, so that got me to West Virginia,' he said."

Bill Danoff confirms it's about West Virginia 2.71.252.63 (talk) 09:05, 8 November 2024 (UTC)