This was written as a tribute to the Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and his research ship, The Calypso. They were good friends and John went with him on more than one voyage.
@@keithredenbaugh9893 awesome dude!👍✌️ Before I knew it was a thing my parents and I moved from Alaska to California. Took a ferry down British Columbia. Had a pod of Orca between us and the coast for a day. I was just 4 but remember it in detail.
@Charlton Jones yes, although not quite as visible a platform, he did continue. Of all the "reality" shows on TV, you would think something like this would come back. I know it had a huge effect on me as a young person, that carried through in my adult life for appreciation of all natural wonders.
@@classicrocklady6288 Regretably, 'reality' television is completely divorced from any association with education, being occupied with distraction and diversion. Research and education is always harder and more expensive than distraction and diversion.
When I was a young man in rural Tennessee, we had one TV. Jaques Cousteau would be on a few times each year and we gathered around the TV to watch. There was silence in the room and all eyes were on that box in the room showing us the Undersea world of Cousteau as he rode the waves aboard the CALYPSO. It is sad that his name and the Calypso are forgotten. I understand the song would seem strange without the knowledge of Cousteau and his old refitted mine sweeper that he renamed Calyoso. The ship that carried the imagination and dreams of many a child aboard it as it explored the sea. I know that my love of science was fueled by Cousteau. time,
Calypso was the worlds most famous scientific reachearch ship ever built. It was the vessel owned by Jaques Cousteau, the most famous marine biologist ever. John Denver became friends with Cousteau, because both were very strong conservationists. John Denver wrote this song to honor Jaques Cousteau. Cousteau had his own TV show, The Undersea World of Jaques Cousteau. He was featured in National Geographic Magazine many times. He also invented the aqualung for breathing underwater. Cousteau was the worlds most expert diver. He spent decades exploring the ocean and doing very serious scientific research on The Calypso. John Denver had Jaques Cousteau on one of his TV specials aboard the Calypso. They went diving together on the special. Jaques Cousteau didn't know about this song, and He got very emotional and cried when John Denver played it for him as a surprise, for his friend, aboard his shop.
You have to be of a certain age to remember, but the Calypso was the ship that was the base for Captain Jacques Cousteau, who had a very popular TV show in the early '70's. He talked about the environment and climate change long before most people and introduced a generation to the wonders of the sea. John Denver was a committed environmentalist and went on some journeys with them.
@@gypsygirl3255 Those were the days of 3 channels (4 if you had a public TV station close by) and a "special" really was special. We were expected to watch "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" and the "National Geographic Society Presents" and discuss them in class. They each came on a couple of times per school year.
Many, many years before Animal Planet, Discover, National Geo channels on cable we had the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. Kids like me waited anxiously for each new episode on ABC.
Named for a mythical sea nymph, the ship Calypso was almost as famous as oceanographer, documentarian, and environmentalist Jacques Cousteau. She was a research vessel, and several generations of us grew up wanting to be marine biologists, or wanting to learn to dive, and go adventuring with Mr. Cousteau and Calypso. This song sounds like the Caribbean, as much as anything.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, AC was an oceanographer known throughout the world. His boat was the Calypso. John was a huge environmentalist and greatly admired Cousteau. Cousteau invited John to sail with him and his crew on one of their adventures. John readily took him up on the offer and had the time of his life. He wrote part of the song while on the adventure and finished it later. He recorded it and sent it to Cousteau.
I get chills every time when I hear this...remembering one of my favorite TV shows growing up...Jacques Cousteau!! John wrote and sang one of the most beautiful songs ever!! The orchestral sound was amazing!
When I was young, I watched Mr. Jacques Cousteau's many documentaries of his voyages of exploration which were presented by 'National Geographic'..... I dreamed of going on those trips... To me, this song that John penned honoring the man, his ship Calypso and her crew, is as wild and free as the oceans they sailed. That almost yodeling Mr. Denver does in this song is as beautiful as the sea. God's Peace to all here ✌
Once when the Calypso went through the Welland Canal (Canada) from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, a friend baked all kinds of goodies, fruit pies, meat pies, cakes and cookies and met the ship and gave the crew her baked goods. Believe me, they were thrilled! Home cooking on the road!
This song is about the ship Calypso, which was bought by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and converted to an oceanographic ship. Cousteau wanted to understand "The silent world" better, in order to protect it. "To live on the land we must learn from the sea" - Cousteau was the first to do research on pollution and its effects on the sea and received many honors for his accomplishments. John Denver cared deeply about nature and this song was a tribute to both Calypso and her captain and their valuable work. Denver wrote the chorus to this song when he was on board the Calypso. He struggled to complete the song, spending months trying to write classical-sounding verses to a sea shanty chorus. He was about to abandon the song when he got the idea for the words when he was skiing. Denver got off the slopes quick and jumped in his Jeep, where he drove home to get his ideas on paper and complete the song. This song has nothing to do with Russia. This is a John Denver written song.
I don't know if you're old enough to remember Jacques Cousteau ~ he was one of the early one's to seriously study the damage we were doing to the Oceans "Calypso" was his ship John Denver actually did a TV Special Promoting his efforts
"Aye Calypso, the places you been to, the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell. Aye Calypso, we sing to your spirit, the men who have served you so long and so well." Brings tears to my eyes, but then I can just barely remember watching Jacques Cousteau when I was very small. The wonders of the ocean world, revealed. ❤
Loved the show, and all we learned from it. This was a Marvelous tribute to the ship Calypso, which did sail the oceans .Jaques raised a whole generation of viewers to appreciate our oceans and land long before it became popular to do so. Try France, Not Russian.
The Calypso was a scientific research vessel that was the home base of the world famous French Oceanographer/Environmentalist Jacques Cousteau. It was through Jacques Cousteau's eyes that the world got their very 1st glimpse of the worlds oceans and the incredible life that lived there. Through his TV series "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" (which aired from 1966 to 1976) he brought that world into the living rooms of ordinary people and for the very 1st time ordinary people could see the wonders of the oceans and also the damage that humans were doing to them. John Denver was an Environmental Activist who got the honor to take some voyages with Jacques Cousteau on his ship the Calypso.
I know your reactions as based on hearing the songs for the first time for you and that is wonderful, however, it might be helpful to look up some background before reacting to it. Like so many songs, you miss most of the song impact when you dont have the context of it. This was a beautiful song and tribute to Jacques Cousteau and his research ship, the Calypso, that gave us so much research information about the ocean and its many wonders. So wonderful to go on his journeys and enjoy from our living rooms.
That's the fun of a reaction video you get to see his first impression and interpretation of a song afterwards we can fill him in on the facts or he can look it up. He was somewhat in the ballpark on this one although I think he must of meant German or Swiss when he heard the yodeling. I don't think Russians are known for yodeling.
You had to grow up in the 70s to understand the tribute this song is making. We all grew up with Jaques Cousteau and Calypso and his wonderful specials. This is a tribute song to the that ship and those men, in the form of a soaring sea shanty.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
In a day before cable television we always welcomed the days when Jacques Cousteau had a special on TV it was always top notch good clean entertainment.
Too cool! Would that it could've been me. I watched as many of Cousteau's TV shows as possible. Some more than once, but that was the pre-rerun era. TV was still relatively new; at least to us middle class in the 60s 70s. Still WAY cool!
This was a song for Oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau! The royalties for this song went to his foundation! Please listen to "Poems, Prayers, and Promises" next! Either the Wildlife Concert or An Evening with John Denver version!
This was a Number One record on the charts in 1975. JD was really huge then. You need to listen to a live version as the album version doesn't really do it justice. I love Milt Okun's producing, but it's slightly over produced, brilliant as it is. He's yodelling, & using his falsetto as in a sea shanty. Live it is AMAZING.
John Denver toured the USSR in 1985, ten years after he released this gem. He played eleven concerts there. At the time he was the first American to perform there in nearly ten years. His 1979 performance of "Rocky Mountain High" at a gala held for Deng Xiaoping during his visit to the USA helped to endear Denver to generations of Chinese audiences. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was so popular there it became a standard.
I always liked the story Milt Okun told that JD went on holiday to China, assuming no one would know who he was & he could enjoy the anonymity. EVERYONE knew who he was, cos Deng Xiaoping was a fan, & his music was the only western music that wasn't banned.
my favourite john denver song! i love how it embodies being out on the high seas - incorporating ocean sounds, the clang of the bell - and how it's sung in the style of a sea shanty. so beautiful and still timely. we must preserve our oceans ❤
Calypso was a research ship converted from a WW2 American PCE,Cousteau used it for years it had a helicopter and a submersible to assist in his marine research.
I remember watching the Cousteau special where John was a guest on the ship. One of the things I remember most is that on one of his dives he came face to face with a baracuda...totally freaked him out in a good way!
We were familiar with the adventures of Jacques Cousteau and Calypso when this song came out. With no frame of reference, your confusion is understandable.
Nearly every John Denver song comes from the perspective of his interest in the environment and being a naturalist. He has done some amazing documentaries as well that will captivate you. The one where he floats down the Colorado River is awesome. And he has done another that was filmed in Alaska too. They are well worth the effort to hunt down and watch. I cried as I experienced the beauty he was showing the viewer...what a beautiful world we live in and why we should do everything we can to preserve it for future generations.
One of his best songs imho. Cousteau and his boat Calypso were our first glimpse of what lay beneath the World's oceans. Great show... great man... well honored here.
My favorite John Denver song. Brings back great memories of watching the TV show about Jacques Cousteau and his ship, "Calypso". Brought the world to life under the sea! They were great special shows of the 60's & 70's.
I’d say it’s partly in the style of a traditional sea shanty - a work song sailors would sing to keep time while they’re raising sails, etc. He gave the profits to Jacque Cousteau’s oceanographic research. The ship is the Calypso.
I grew up watching the "Undersea World of Jaques Cousteau" this will date me quite a bit, since that was a mid 1960's show. But it strangely brings happy tears to my eyes. Just reminding me of when I was a young boy. I love the yodeling. That always sends shivers down my spine. Jaques Cousteau was a French Naval Officer, Divemaster, and Oceanographer
Calypso was a research vessel for oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau equipped with a mobile laboratory for underwater field research. His son also help with his research.
I love this song...its as if his vocals were flowing with the waves on the boat...i qas born in 72 i loved the sea and his music. This songbis hypnotic if you can feel the movement if the sea. He was inspired ❤❤❤
You should watch the video where they're on the ship and the dolphins are all around them jumping and spinning and just being happy. This is an awesome song from our late beloved John Denver. Was a beautiful human being!!!
John Denver always brings tears to my eyes! I'M 65 and I have loved him since the beginning and was heartbroken when we lost him. I grew up watching Jacques Cousteau also! He introduced the sea to those of us living in the midwest in the USA
I miss these beautiful days captured on NATGEO. And John was a steward for the protection of this planet. God bless him and we need 10,000 more of these types in our world.
Calypso is the name of the research ship that Cousteau sailed to do his studies of the sea life and for his TV show about the ocean. Denver is yodeling--- He inspired me to learn how to yodel. So-- now I can yodel along with him as he sings this song! Odel-lay hee--odel-lahee-ee--oh!
This is my favorite of John Denver's music. Always loved watching the Jacques Cousteau specials, and this brings back those good memories. So glad you reacted to it :-)
As many have already stated, this song probably doesn't mean as much to the generations that came after this time, but those of us who grew up with Jacques Cousteau and his show "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau", this song brings back such amazing memories. I was young at the time this show was one but I remember it being a staple show that I and my older brothers ALWAYS watched. The of course John Denver through his love of Nature came to be good friends with Jacques Cousteau, which led to him being on the Calypso and inspired him to write this song. Cousteau's show was so amazing and where I learned so much about the sea and the creatures who live there.
There was a tv special with John Denver on Calypso with Cousteau and the crew. He sang this for them. As a side note, John could yodel and he used it throughout his music. Denver’s music is not one dimensional and he crosses many genres. He is a balladeer extraordinaire who can tell a story with the way he uses the music and the words.
The song was an Anthem! Folk music anthem in honor of the ship Calypso who we all back then grew up watching sail around the world exploring nature and the sea!
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau was a popular show in the 1970s. Cousteau's vessel was called the Calypso. As someone pointed out, Cousteau and John Denver were friends and Denver went on some of the expeditions. Nothing to do with Russia. When this song was popular, I dreamt of a career as a marine biologist... I loved the Cousteau shows and this song had a special meaning for me. It's still one of my favorite John Denver songs.
Great song which takes me right back to a time when the whole family gathered every week in front of the TV to watch the adventures of Jacques Cousteau and his team as they explored the Oceans of the world in the Calypso. John Denver captures the essence of it so well and you can even hear the waves crashing in the chorus.
Oh man, you're really bringing me back to my childhood with this one. My parents introduced my sister and me to John Denver's music from an early age, and I've been a lifelong fan.
This is one of those songs I heard as a child and didn't understand. As I grew older and the bass player in me emerged, the harmonies, the melody and the lyrics opened a door for me that led me to a world of music I never knew existed. I grew up on FM Funk and AM Classic Rock. One thing I know for sure, there can never be one man or one woman that can ever be considered the "King of..." or the "Queen of...." because the world of music is by far too large for some to comprehend, let alone be considered the best of.
This is actually a form of song known as a “Sea Shanty”… Sailors sang these on ships and in pubs during the days of the great sailing ships…. Actually an English/American tradition…
Harri, the series this is from was called The Undersea World or Adventures of Jacques Cousteau! It became a legendary series overnight! The Calypso was the ship they sailed in! I believe John Denver spent a day with Cousteau and penned this beautiful song which is up there with Annie's Song!
My pop( USCG) helped inspect the Calypso in the St. Lawrence River in the 70s. It passed. Glad you enjoyed it. Calypso was a nymph in Greek myth. A water spirit. Very much female.
There are a couple of lovely videos for this song, featuring Mr Cousteau and his crew and various sea creatures, like dolphins. When I was growing up we didn't vacation much, and I never knew whether I would ever see the ocean, so Cousteau's shows were wondrous and fascinating
Loved watching Jacques Cousteau as a kid, along with Alan Whicker's programmes I got to see so much of the world at a time when it seemed like a big place. Cousteau was honoured with this beautiful song and Whicker was sent up by Monty Python with the Whicker's Island sketch.
