Monday, October 6, 2008

“I’ll take ‘Folk Music of the 1970s’ for 200, Alex.”

The Eagle and the Hawk by John Denver

“I am the eagle, I live in high country
in rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky
I am the hawk, and there’s blood on my feathers
but time is still turning, they soon will dry
And all those who see me, and all who believe in me
share in the freedom I feel when I fly…

Come dance with the west wind, and touch on the mountain tops
sail o’er the canyons and up to the stars
and reach for heavens, and hope for the future
and all that we ‘can’ be, not what we are…”


I grew up listening to the dulcet tones of singer/songwriter John Denver. At least one of his albums (on tape…damn I’m old!) would go with us every year on ‘vacation’…because it was a family tradition to listen to ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ at least twice while driving through West Virginia.

Read that last paragraph again…my parents have seriously twisted me…I can’t wait to do the same to my children.

ANYWAY! I rebelled against him, his music, and all that he stood for (poor guy, he never even knew he was the cause of teenaged angst and several family arguments) once I hit high school…bringing a family tradition to a screeching halt. I even went so far as to throw one of my dad’s multiple tapes out the car window one year while traveling north on US 19. Sorry about that, Dad.

But it seems that age has mellowed me…and it seems that the all that brainwashing my folk music loving mother subjected me to as a child has caught up with me and my damaged psyche at last. In other words…I’m a John Denver fan.

And ‘The Eagle and the Hawk’ is my favorite of his songs.

And when I’m bummed I put it on repeat and turn the volume up.

And sing along...loudly.

I guess what I’m getting at is if you haven’t ever heard this song then do yourself a favor and YouTube it or iTune it or steal it from someone who already has it.

Then turn it on, close your eyes, and just listen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey, did you know that you were the one introducing me to John Denver way back 10 years ago?! We were driving around town in your car listening to music (as usual)and suddenly you put on that tape you mentioned in your post. Ever since then I really like John Denver´s music and own plenty of CD´s. So thanks!
weird German girl