John Denver FIRST TIME HEARING Rocky Mountain High BRITISH REACTION 

I'm not sure if you two gentlemen have ever had the experience of seeing America's Rocky Mountains. When you see them with your own eyes, you'll understand why John wrote this song. Great reactions, guys.

All of the genre police hated John Denver. The country folk thought it was too folk; the folk singers thought it was too pop; the pop singers thought it was too folk/pop. The general listening public loved it as it deserved, and listen to it still. Henry John Deutschendorf defies genres and pigeonholes, and never sang a bad song.

American folk legend. His set list of original songs still resonate as a national treasure. He died way too young. Thanks guys.

In 1985, Denver appeared before a congressional committee bent on censoring him for this song. They could not get past the "high" and was sure the song was about drugs. Denver gave about a 20 minute statement on censorship.

The first time I walked in the Rockies I truly had a spiritual connection and was so overwhelmed with awe and a feeling of how small and insignificant man truly is. Felt so blessed to experience the splendor of God's creation. Thanks for the great reaction guys. Peace and love to you and yours.

I listened to this whole album over and over again in the 70's. It brings so much joy. What a legacy to have for a life well lived. Love John!

That 2nd horse for each person in the video was a pack horse and they usually are used for more than carrying extra underwear.... 🙂 Usually they are packing tents, food, horse food, equipment, etc. On hunting trips they may be used to bring back large animals that are killed like elk, deer, etc. They are used for longer trips into the wilderness for camping, hunting trips, etc. They are also used by forest rangers that have to go into the back country of the national parks on patrols or working trips. Sometimes there are no roads to use a car or truck to haul stuff.

A "Rocky Mountain high" has nothing to do with drugs. It's a wonderful spiritual awakening from standing in the majestic grandeur of Nature. It's best understood if you contemplate what the song means by the line "Talk to God and listen to the casual reply."

It's folk music. He had such a beautiful voice. We still listened to it whether they banned it or not.

John Denver simply the best

The horse carried a tent, camping gear, food, cooking utensils, Coffee. You take all you need to live for several days. It’s called camping!!! Thanks, John Denver is a National Treasure in the US. Not sure about the rest of the world. More than one Day of camping!! Thanks for playing him.

You dont have to be from Colorado to feel the high from this beautiful song its an experience for a Worldwide audience to Share

John was an amazing singer/songwriter/poet who always wrote about real things and real emotions. This song was about how he felt about his move to Colorado and how it affected him. He was a staunch ecologist and conservationist all his life. He sailed with Jacques Cousteau aboard the Calypso and wrote songs about it. Raining fire from the sky was a reference to a meteor shower.

John Denver was a great singer-songwriter & actor. He had so many hits in the 70's-80's. Some of his signature songs were "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Annie's Song", "Poems, Prayers & Promises", "Calypso", "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", "Sunshine On My Shoulders" etc. John appeared in several films & television specials during the 70's-80's, including the 1977 hit "Oh, God!", in which he starred alongside George Burns.

RIP JD. He did America proud with this one.

John Denver was a great artist gone way before his time,his music was all over the radio in the 70's.

I moved to Colo. that year in Grand Junction and fell in love with his music.In 83 I spent 17 days in Colo.as buddies were hunting bear in the San Juan Natl Forest.17 days away from it all,an adventure few ever have or experience.What a blessing it was and as was John.

Yes! You need to listen multiple times. Any song worth its weight takes multiple listens. This is one. It was his signature song and became the state song. It was a huge hit and established John. Country Roads, Annie’s Song ❤️. There’s more. He also had a bit of a movie career, most notable Oh God! With George Burns as God. RIP John.

We are poorer men if we'll never see an eagle fly...I love John Denver, such a true human being and great musician/storyteller.

Beautiful. John is truly missed. He had the heart of a poet.

John Denver was a military brat who moved around a lot but never really had any true roots to any particular place. The opening lines to the song are about when he came to Colorado for the first time and it felt like home to him. "He was born in the summer of his 27th year Coming home to a place he'd never been before He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again You might say he found a key for every door."

THE HIGH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DRUGS...IT WAS THE "HIGH" YOU GET FROM SO MUCH BEAUTY

Watching it rain fire in the sky is his recollection of a meteor shower.

Always loved his beautiful crystal clear voice. RIP John! 😔

You need to check out all his other songs they are GREAT, Annie's Song, Take Me Home, Calypso, Country Roads, and Sunshine on My Shoulders!!

If you were around and listened to his music at the time it came out......without bias, you would know his "high" in this song came from the fresh awe and amazement you get from the incredible Rocky Mountains. I'd also like to say....the video is what we called "home movies" back in those days. These movies were made during his trips to the mountains. They were not made FOR a music video. Also, I'd like you to notice what backpacks were like back then. Also, taking two hrs rses on a camping trip....no big deal ....it's how it was done. Bot do I miss those days. I'm 61 years old. John Denver wasy absolute favorite singer. I haven't heard his music in decades and I am finding that I can still sing every word. So nice to see others enjoying this music even though we lost John waaaay too soon.

Nothing like the Rocky Mountains, Colorado and John Denver. I loved living there.

I saw John Denver in concert. It was just him and his guitar with an occasional song where he played a piano. He sounded great live.

If you've ever been in the Rockies, you'd understand that the "high" ISN'T from drugs.

He was an amazing talent! I think I knew almost all of the words to his songs. He just made you feel good about yourself, life and your friends. Loved this!

Country Roads was my all time favorite John Denver song

"...his sight has turned inside himself to try to understand, the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake."

The profound line in the song to me is "the shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby". The raining fire in the sky is the Pleiades Meteor shower.

John Denver was the very first live concert I ever went to. He has been a favorite artist of mine since I was 12 and I'm 52 going on 53 i. Dec.

John Denver was just a special musician, singer, & storyteller. When my mom used to clean the house on the weekends in the 1970s, I would hear John Denver & Kenny Rogers albums all afternoon. The music of both of those singers is a time machine back to my childhood in the best possible way.

John Denver s vioce was so beautiful especially when he sang about nature u can feel like if u were right there with him

It is called a "pack horse". It is very common for the average cowboy in the mountains to have a riding horse and a pack horse. Your riding horse is much too valuable to put that much weight and gear onto him to carry as well as you.

In 1997 when he was killed in that plane crash we lost another National Treasure. His ashes were spread among the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. He had a voice that as you guys mentioned was very distinct and pure. There is a large catalog left to explore. Take Me Home Country Roads Sunshine on My Shoulders Annie's Song are good songs to continue with.

Loved John Denver! thank you Brits for checking him out.

This song takes me to a different place every time i hear it its magical

My parents loved John Denver. I grew up listening to him.

Brewer and Shipley "One toke over the line" was played for years on the radio back during the same time.

“I’ve seen it rain fire in the sky” refers to him seeing a meteor shower while camping with friends in the mountains. Have you never been camping? You have to take everything with you tent food sleeping bags cooking utensils etc.

For a few years, he was the most famous man on the planet…..

An True American Artist...he’s untouchable, the greatest Americana Folk Artist! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

This song is about being high on life!

John was an accomplished 12 string guitarist.

I would recommend doing all of his songs LIVE..........pure brilliance

When asked if he was a folk singer,he says he was an American singer.

Clear, beautiful 1st tenor. Lost too soon. 😢❤

In a video memory by John Denver, he explains that the song is all about an experience that he had camping out in the Colorado Rocky Mts. Those are the lyrics.

Denver co-wrote another state song. Take Me Home Country Roads which West Virginia has adopted.(how could they not?)

Colorado is a very beautiful state, 4 national parks, numerous gorgeous drives and hikes, and an expanse of grasslands in the eastern third of the state. Well worth a BP1+2 visit.

Jingle-jangle is a great way to describe the acoustic guitar on this song. John generally played 12 string guitars made by Guild. Those guitars are often considered the standard I. 12 strings. They are absolutely beautiful to play and listen to.

John Denver was a true adventurer. He went on at least one journey with Jacques Cousteau and he died crashing an experimental aircraft.

To complement "Friends around the campfire, & everybody's high", is the line from his Poems, Prayers, & Promises song : " While all my friends, & my old lady sit & pass the pipe around". (Just in case anyone had any doubts about what he was REEFERring to.)

When I moved to Colorado, one of the first places I visited was Aspen - thanks to John's songs. I drove to Snowmass and and walked up to Maroon Lake. The stunning view actually made me cry. And yeah, it's a completely different kind of high you get when in those mountains (the lake itself is at 9500+ ft). Also, this may be the first JD reaction I've seen where the focus was on the guitar! Well done BP2! 😀❤

My favorite Denver song is Grandma’s Feather Bed. It brings back memories of my own grandma’s feather bed.

I've loved John Denver from my student days, he's always inspired me. As he was against w.a.r he earned himself enemies from those that get rich from it, especially after singing anti-war song with the guy from Russia. John's voice was and will always be on a higher frequency magically spiritual. He soar's like an eagle.

Thanks for playing this. You guys are always terrific. When I lived in Denver, Colorado, in the 1970s, the people there HATED this song, because it brought in a lot of Californians.[presently...GA coast]

He played a 12 String much of the time. So your hearing two octaves each note. Check out Thank God I'm A Counrty Boy.

John got me started playing guitar close to 50 years ago!! I play about 20 to 25 of his songs.l play Johns music all the time i play my guitar every day many times a day THANKS John !!!

John Denver was (and is) a great American treasure. A supporter of science, environmentalism, and exploration, this great songwriter embodied what my country is about. He even threw is hat into the ring in the infamous PMRC hearings in the US senate of the 1980's, standing for freedom of speech and artistic expression. In the process of these hearings, he would make (then) Senator Al Gore (later, Vice-President) look like an idiot.

God, I miss him. Taken from us way too young.

There was a guy in my home town that would go to Colorado for the first two weeks of elk season with his pack horse and just be available. He said it was amazing how many people would spend half a day hiking up a mountain, shoot a three or four hundred pound animal and then try to figure out how to drag it several miles thru the mountains to get it out. For a fee he would take his pack horse up and bring out the kill. He would get money or a part of the elk so he more than paid for his time off work and got some elk without the expense of all the fees.

Come to the USA - we have LOTS of equines, & we employ them in all KINDS of ways. One of John's most popular songs. Of course, the whole snafu around the word "high" only made it MORE popular. Thanks for your reaction.

John Denver rather famously set the record straight about the song, before a joint session of Congress, regarding the proposed implementation of music ratings. He used it as an example that our free speech could be infringed by mere misinterpretations of lyrics. In the end he won, but the music industry acquiesced anyway, and did the ratings system voluntarily, eliminating the free speech debate aspect.

The only way you could interpret 'Rocky mountain high' having to do with drugs is if you have never been there whether in the States or Canada. Film and photo cannot capture their majesty. There is nothing else in the world that can be compared to this mountain range, no standard from which to understand what you are looking at through film or photograph unless you have been there.

Mountains are high enough here that you don't need any help to "get high" at those altitudes. The low pressure and oxygen makes you literally giddy, plus the surrealness of how sharp everything looks on a clear day.

This is my favourite all time John Denver song. For a real treat. please watch him perform it live at The Wildlife Concert

This song will hook you. You say that you might not go back to,l it, but you probably will. 😉 The various layers of the song draw you in.

The Rocky Mountains extend all the way up to Alberta Canada. I was born and raised here...and still they take my breath away. I believe Calgary Alberta is the "sister" city of Denver Colorado...if I ever moved to the USA that's where I'd want to go

I live in Centennial, the southern portion of the Denver metro area. This is my third time living in Colorado, the first starting in 1961 in Colorado Springs (yes, I am that old), the second time when I attended the United States Air Force Academy just north of Colorado Springs, and the latest since September 2019. The late Mr. John Denver was the Poet Laureate for the State of Colorado, and appropriately so, as even though he was not a native of Colorado (like me), he grasped the spirit of Colorado (like me). I'm living at my 34th address, and there's a reason it's in Colorado.

John was an underappreciated song writer. Some people didn't care for his vibrato but I kind of liked hearing him sing.

The bears are cubes (babys). I was born, live, and love the Colorado Mountains for the past 60 years. I love John Denver's music.

The wilderness still existed when he wrote this. Eventually everyone played this song it was tame comparatively. The bears are everywhere black bears are cross country. I live in Massachusetts and we have bears.

Of course, the government would never "get" it. It's a spiritual awakening not a drug buzz. Reefer madness at its worst. So glad so many more minds are open now. John was such a gifted human/musician. His music (literally) saved my life a couple of times. Truly. I just love his message and music. Thanks for this.

Gotta go back and really listen to the lyrics❤️

If you're interested in having a strum on the guitar after this, the song is in "dropped D" tuning (low E string dropped to a low D with the rest of the strings in standard tuning) with a capo on the 2nd fret.

“Sunshine on my shoulder” is a beautiful song

My favorite John Denver song is the one about Jacques Cousteau's boat "Calypso"

John was an incredible talent, beautiful voice, masterful guitarist, songwriter, & beloved by fans. He didn’t get the respect he deserved from the music industry, but he’ll be forever loved by his many, many fans. Next time: live version of “Annie’s Song”, at wildlife concert. One of the most beautiful love songs ever written or performed.

I really love John Denver. So nice to see someone reacting to his music. I hope you listen to more. 💜

The state of West Virginia also adapted his song Take Me Home Country Roads as their state song.

guys this is an a plus song with if your in tune with nature these lyrics are perfect

Jingly-jangly is the (kinda) official term to describe country-folk rock from the 60s and 70s. Began with Roger McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar that kicked off The Byrds career in "Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Tun! Turn!".

Calypso The Eagle and The Hawk Country Roads (Take Me Home) ANNIES SONG THANK GOD IM A COUNTRY BOY Sunshine On My Shoulders

I can't think of a half-a@@ John Denver song. Well, the lyrics say, "Friends around the campfire and everybody's high." There's so many life moments in this song, I'll let you investigate that. Yes, it's a classic, like many of his songs.

John Denver was incredible. Annie's Song is one of my favorites. I spent all my summers in the Rockies and lived just south of Denver after high school. Absolutely beautiful scenery - awe inspiring. Until you adjust, the altitude causes oxygen defienciency, kind of a high. Funny thing, Colorado was one of the first state pass legal marijuana laws.

I grew up in Colorado Springs, waking every morning to Pike's Peak out my front window. John Denver was the soundtrack of my life back then. I can say I am not a weed smoker, but you absolutely get high being up at 14,000 feet, the whole world is below you, and all the cares of the city are a world away. Why anyone up there would need to get stoned there, would only be to numb their own feelings of inadequacy in the face of such divine perfection. The beauty cannot be described, so he instead described his experience.

Gosh memories of our family vacations as a child. Not a long drive from Oklahoma. Loved loved the mountains. We listened to that song so many time in radio. 3 cars following each other all the way there . Colorado still just as wonderful to visit today. Maybe sometime you 2 can record a trip here in the US and visit the mountains . 🎉🎉🎉

A great song is country boy..😊

I have a soft spot for John Denver. Censorship is pathetic. He was a genius. Regardless of the conspirators v.

Great song. Saw him do this on the Tonight show.

You need to listen again, and the second time pay close attention to the lyrics. I think anyone who has spent time in any mountain range will understand this song. I lived in Colorado when I was a kid. My dad lived their all of his adult life hiring himself out as a hunting guide and a wrangler. He guided hunters to those big horn sheep that you saw in the video. By the way, horseback is the only way to get near those big horn sheep as the terrain is too rough for motor vehicles except maybe motorcycles and ATVs. But then, they are too loud and would intrude on the serenity and scare away the forest residents. I've seen it rain fire in the sky. I remember the calmness of the lakes, the swiftness of ice cold mountain streams teeming with trout. Though its been more than 40 years since I last tasted rainbow trout from the Yampa River, I still remember the flavor. I still see Bald Eagles fly from my Michigan home. They hunt the corn field across the road from my home. And deer steal apples from my trees. And pheasants and rabbits huddle under my spruce trees. I could never live in an urban area. I feel as if I am choking whenever I have to go to even a small city, If you ever visit the states, Colorado and Wyoming must be included in your itinerary.

The "jingly, jangly" sound is due to John playing a 12-string guitar. I would say the genre is "country pop". You should watch his full concert from The Apollo Theatre in London of all places to see how charming and talented he was: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8bg7pfxxMAk.html

I traveled to Denver 3 or 4 times a year on business and I started a routine of playing this song as we approached Denver IAP.

John Denver's Rocky Mountain High is a largely autbiographical song containing thinly disguised references to important events in John's life in the early 1970s. While drug use may or actually may not have featured in some of those events (John was a young man of his time) the song is absolutely not about nor does it feature references to drug use. The song opens with a striking reference to John's first sight of the Rockies around 1970, when he had a feeling of coming home to a place he had never been before, in the summer of his 27th year. Behind this reference is John's memory of never quite knowing where he was from or where he could call home. John was born in December 1943, the son of an air force pilot father with Oklohoma roots, and he spent his entire youth moving from place to place as his father got posted to bases all across the American southern states and even briefly to Japan. Regularly John would move from school to school, never knowing who his classmates were and finding it difficult to blend in or make friends. A shy boy, he turned instead to a love of nature, taking up pursuits like camping or hiking in the mountains and in nature. A gift of a 1910 Gibson guitar given him by his beloved grandmother opened his life to the wonders of music and helped open doors to social acceptance among classmates who were amazed that he could sing, and sing well indeed. Thus it was that at age 27 John found his beloved Rockies for the frst time, and found there a place that he wanted to call home. A few years later as his career blossomed he and his wife Annie would make a home for themselves in the Colorado town of Aspen, and John would find home and happiness for the first time, though his blooming career would effectively take hime away from Aspen on an all too frequent and regular basis. By the way, the cover of the Rocky Mountain High album features John standing on a rock on the Roaring Fork River in Aspen. That rock, famously called Rocky Mountain High Rock is still visited by fans who travel there to see where it all began for John Denver. Another striking reference in Rocky Mountain High speaks of it raining fire in the sky. This is not a drug induced allusion but speaks of a true event. It was the time of the annual Perseid meteor shower and John and his wife and a number of friends were camping in the mountains, with they simply being there watching the miracle displayed above them feeling what was for them the real Rocky Mountain High. It is a moment that John would often speak about at his concerts, even many years later, when the wonder of the experience was still close to his heart.

The song is autobiographical. When one is 13,000-14,000 feet in altitude they are really 'high'...

I saw him perform this song with a twelve string. Very nice