08.18.08
Remembering John Denver
Yesterday afternoon, I turned on the PBS TV station to take a brief break from chores. You can count on PBS to offer fantastic programming and yesterday was no different. As part of a pledge drive, the feature was the life and music of John Denver. In the space of the 1/2 hour, that I watched, I learned all kinds of new information about him.
He gave a concert in China. His father was an officer in the Air Force, a “fly boy” as they are called (in the Air Force), and that is who first inspired him to be a pilot. John’s real name was “Dusseldorf.” He took the name of his favorite city, “Denver,” as his stage name. His wife was interviewed and is very beautiful. She mentioned John’s highs and lows and attributed that to an “artistic temperament.”
The one obvious fact about John Denver is that his words and music touched us all. “You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest.” He presents word imagery over which one can linger and try to visualize all the descriptive phrases. That is why his songs are never boring. One can’t really catch the words and their meaning with the first listen. John loved nature and donated a terrific amount of money to environmental causes.
Seeing him perform a tune with Johnny Cash, who has also passed away, reminded me of viewing photos in which all the people have now crossed to the other side. Extending that thought, I began to think of the musical “greats,” who performed in my lifetime, and who are no longer here, John Lennon at the top of the list. They left an indelible mark on our hearts and in our souls, that cannot be erased by time. You see, the way we craft words, does matter, and the more universal the theme, the more likely songs will be remembered.
John Denver spoke for many of us. For example, I never sang, “Take Me Home, Country Roads, to the Place I Belong,” more heartily than when I was missing the tranquility of a home “far away.” John Denver’s music can, indeed, be absorbed at face value, but when one perceives his words, at a deeper level, they may have a bittersweet quality, as noted on the PBS show.
An enigmatic person and an extremely gifted one, we question why he is no longer with us. It doesn’t seem fair. With the gift of technology, his music still is heard: “Sunshine on My Shoulder Makes Me Happy.”
Here’s wishing you sunshine, “prayers, and promises,”
Patricia Cummings
