The Legacy
This universal understanding of the innate meaning of the song still continues today in German culture. During Oktoberfest, German natives go crazy over every performance of “Take Me Home.” "... [They]... get misty-eyed over a song about the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge, [ask] what cultural resonance they find in it, and you’ll get a quizzical stare: It’s a really good song, don’t you think”? (“Bill Danoff on how ‘Country Roads’, 8) In the Japanese film, Whisper of the Heart, a variation of the song is used as a auditory motif, furthering “Take Me Home” as an international hit.
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As mentioned earlier, Bill Danoff underestimated the potency of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” When the song was first recorded and introduced to America, millions of listeners were instantly enamored. This love of the song wasn’t restricted to Americans, however; Countries ranging from Communist-led China, to present day Germany still revere this song as a Western classic. In Washington D.C., the Premiere of China was invited to Washington D.C. to attend a John Denver concert. Before this event, little to no Western music was played in China, but “... afterwards someone told [Denver’s producer] that the premiere wanted to take some cassettes of John's music back to China," (“John Denver Remembered FULL” 7). All these cassettes were distributed to the all the radio stations in China, which had enormous positive feedback, despite the language barrier.
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