logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2021
27m 50s

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

"Country roads, take me home To the place I belong"

'Take Me Home, Country Roads' was written by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert with and for their friend John Denver.

The song went on to be covered by Ray Charles, Toots and the Maytals, Olivia Newton John and many more.

A song about the longing for home and the desire to be back with the people you love, 'Country Roads' has become one of the official state songs of West Virginia but it also speaks to people from around the world and across political divides.

It's a song about togetherness, belonging, homesickness, the immigrant experience and the hold that the landscape of your 'home place' can have on you.

Featuring contributions from:

Bill Danoff Sarah Morris Jason Jeong Ngozi Fulan Lloyd Bradley Alison Wells.

And from Molly Sarlé, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath of the band Mountain Man.

Produced for BBA Audio in Bristol by Mair Bosworth.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021.

Up next
Apr 26
Bésame Mucho
The Mexican pianist and composer Consuelo Velázquez was only 16 years old when she wrote Bésame Mucho, and she was yet to have her first kiss. Composer and conductor Odaline de la Martinez remembers hearing the song on the radio as a child in Cuba. She translates the Spanish lyri ... Show More
27m 50s
Apr 19
May You Never
"May you never lay your head down without a hand to hold / May you never make your bed out in the cold."A perfect folk song of brotherly affection, with simply voice and guitar, John's Martyn's May You Never has captured listeners' hearts since 1971. John Martyn was born in Surre ... Show More
27m 48s
Apr 12
Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns
Burns began a correspondence with Agnes McElhose, also known as Clarinda and Nancy, a married woman he was besotted with. When she left Scotland to reunite with her husband he wrote Ae Fond Kiss as a heartfelt farewell. It was later set to music and is one of his most famous 'son ... Show More
27m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2020
Music therapy with Kane Brown,Holly Macve and Olivia Lane
Young country stars Kane Brown, Holly Macve and Olivia Lane discuss writing songs as therapy, recurring themes, and being put in a difficult position by their lyrics.Kane Brown is a superstar in the making from Tennessee, and has been called the ‘Justin Bieber of country’. He has ... Show More
26m 1s
Oct 2019
Tennessee Mountain Trance
We journey into the Dollyverse dimension: "Tennessee Mountain Home."Like all law abiding Tennesseans, Jad grew up with the song on a loop. He hadn’t planned to talk with Dolly about it, but much to his surprise, he is drawn into a Tennessee Mountain Trance. The trance opens a por ... Show More
40m 27s
May 2020
Tyler Childers: Run these roads
Tyler Childers was nominated for a Grammy in early 2020. He’s an emerging talent who is true to his Appalachian roots.He grew up in the foothills of East Kentucky, his father worked in the coal industry, and his songs reflect the tough life in that part of the world - unemploymen ... Show More
31m 13s
Oct 2021
Country Music Month 2021
Early country music performers, including: Fiddlin John Carson, Billie Maxwell, The Carter Family, Darby and Tarlton, Henry Whitter, Ernest Stoneman, The Skillet Lickers & Jimmie Rodgers. Songs include: Birmingham Jail, The Cowboy Wife, Mule Skinner Blues, Are You Washed In the B ... Show More
39m 46s
Apr 2024
Cowboy Carter: This Ain't Country
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is her foray into country music, but this isn't just dirt roads, blue jeans and whiskey. Her country music distills all of American pop: blues, gospel, R&B, soul, house, hip-hop and yes, country. If this ain't country, what is? Learn more about your ad cho ... Show More
39m 27s
Mar 2021
Is "Austin" By Blake Shelton One Of The Best Country Songs Ever?
The guys talk country music at the Grammy's, Chris Gaines music, and "Austin" by Blake Shelton getting a re-release 
33m 27s
Jan 2024
NOËL - Bob Dylan : "Highway 61 Revisited" ou l'âme de la musique américaine
REDIFF - Pendant les fêtes, retrouvez les Lettres d'Amérique des correspondants de RTL à New York... La "Highway 61" n'est pas seulement une route qui traverse l'Amérique du nord au sud, reliant le Minnesota à la Louisiane, en passant le Missouri, le Tennessee et le Mississipi. C ... Show More
19m 7s
Mar 2024
BBC OS Conversations: Beyoncé and the changing face of country music
The latest Beyoncé song, Texas Hold ‘Em, has topped the charts in the US and UK. More significantly, however, this is the first time a black woman has gone to No. 1 in the US country music charts, provoking several talking points about diversity within the country music genre. Ho ... Show More
22m 59s
Aug 2023
Country Music Star Morgan Evans!
Morgan Evans, the country music star behind hits such as ‘Diamonds’ & ‘Day Drunk’ joins Smallzy to chat about the sudden popularity of country music! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
10m 33s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami