Country Roads: October 1st-5th

Theme: Autumn: John Denver’s Country Roads

Class Description: As a supplement to our study of the Autumn season, we began our October Read to Me, Sing to Me book that is an illustrated account of John Denver’s Country Roads. This is a wonderful modern American folk song  that is an important part of our musical culture. The illustrations by Christopher Canyon bring to life a story of a family reunion and the journey they take through the countryside. There are a wide variety of things in the illustrations for the children to pick out and identify and the song itself brings a smile to their faces every time we sing it!

Musical Elements: Melodic repetition, steady beat, pitch matching, pitch and vocal exploration

Academic Skills: Listening, focusing, contributing to a discussion, anecdotal recall, discussing seasonal and environmental characteristics, and musical style appreciation.

Country Roads

By John Denver

Almost heaven, West Virginia 

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River 
Life is old there, older than the trees 
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze 

Chorus: 
Country roads, take me home 
To the place I belong 
West Virginia, Mountain Mama 
Take me home, country roads 

All my memories, gathered 'round her 
Miners' Lady, stranger to blue water 
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky 
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye 

Chorus 

Bridge:

I hear her voice, in the morning hour she calls me 
The radio reminds me of my home far away 
And drivin' down the road I get the feeling 
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday 

Chorus x 2