John Denver Album

The wind is the whisper of our mother the Earth
The wind is the hand of our father the sky
The wind watches over our struggles and pleasures
The wind is the goddess who first learned to fly

The wind is the bearer of bad and good tidings
Weaver of darkness, bringer of dawn
The wind gives the rain (yes), and builds us a rainbow
The wind is the singer who sang the first song
The wind is a twister of anger and warning

The wind brings the fragrence of freshly mown hay
The wind is the racer and the white stallion running
And the sweet taste of love on a slow summer's day
The wind knows the songs of cities and canyons

Thunder of mountains, the roar of the sea
The wind is the taker and giver of mornings
The wind is the symbol of all that is free
So welcome the wind and the wisdom she offers
Follow her summons when she calls again

In your heart and your spirit let the breezes surround you
Lift up your voice then and sing with the wind

Up in a meadow in Jasper, Alberta
Two men and four ponies on a long, lonesome ride
To see the high country and learn of her people
The ways that they live there, the ways that they die
One is a teacher, and one a beginner
Just wanting to be there, wanting to know

And together they're trying to tell us a story
That should have been listened to long, long ago
How the life in the mountains is living in danger
From too many people, too many machines
And the time is upon us, today is forever
Tomorrow is just one of yesterday's dreams

Cold nights in Canada and icy blue winds
The man and the mountains are brothers again
Clear waters are laughing, they sing to the skies
The Rockies are living, they never will die
Up in a meadow in Jasper, Alberta
Two men and four ponies on a long, lonesome ride.

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

When he first came to the mountains, his life was far away
On the road and hanging by a song
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long

It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullaby
Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept the memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight is turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
Talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of the simple things he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

In the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky Mountain high
The Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
Friends around the campfire and everybody's high
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)
Rocky Mountain high (high in Colorado)

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a day that I could give you
I'd give to you the day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you
I'd sing a song to make you feel this way

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high

If I had a tale that I could tell you
I'd tell a tale sure to make you smile
If I had a wish that I could wish for you
I'd make a wish for sunshine for all the while

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high
Sunshine almost always...

I am the eagle, I live in high country
In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky
I am the hawk and there's blood on my feathers
But time is still turning they soon will be dry
And all of those who see me, and all who believe in me
Share in the freedom I feel when I fly

Come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
Sail o'er the canyons and up to the stars
And reach for the heavens and hope for the future
And all that we can be and not what we are

The sun is slowly fadin' in the western sky
Sometimes it takes forever for the day to end
Sometimes it takes a lifetime
Sometimes I think I'll never see the sun again

There's a heavy smog between me and my mountains
It's enough to make a grown man sit and cry
It's enough to make you wonder
It's enough to make the world roll up and die

I think it's kind of interesting the way things get to be
The way that people work with their machines
Serenity's a long time comin' to me
The fact I don't believe I know what it means

In the east a shaded moon is hangin' lazily
I do believe I saw the old man smile
I do believe I did
I do believe he's been laughin' all the while

I think it's kind of interesting the way things get to be
The way that people work with their machines
Serenity's a long time comin' to me
The fact I don't believe I know what it means any more

When the sun is slowly fadin' in the western sky
Sometimes it takes forever the day to end
Sometimes it takes a lifetime
Sometimes I think I'll never see the sun again
Sun again

The Earth is our mother just turning around
With her trees in the forest and roots underground
Our father above us who's sigh is the wind
Paint us a rainbow without any end

As the river runs freely the mountain does rise
Let me touch with my fingers and see with my eyes
In the hearts of the children of pure love still roams
Like a bright star in heaven that lights our way home
Like the flower that shattered the stone

Sparrows find freedom beholding the sun
In the infinite beauty we're all joined in one
I reach out before me and look to the sky
Then I hear someone whisper it's something pass by

As the river runs freely the mountain does rise
Let me touch with my fingers and see with my eyes
In the hearts of the children of pure love still roams
Like a bright star in heaven that lights our way home
Like the flower that shattered the stone
Like a bright star in heaven that lights our way home
Like the flower that shattered the stone

This song appears on four albums, and was first released on the Earth Songs album. It has been released on The Flower That Shattered The Stone, The Very Best of John Denver (Single CD) and The John Denver Collection - Rocky Mountain High albums.

Raven's child
Is chasing salvation
Black beak turned white
From the crack and the snow
On the streets of despair
The answer is simple
A spoonful of mercy
Can set free the soul

The drug king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Even children
Are twisted to serve him
And greed has corrupted
What once was a heart

Raven's child
Keeps vigil for freedom
Trades for the arms
That once made her strong
With nuclear warheads
And lasers in heaven
fear does the choosing
Between right and wrong

The arms king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Bankers assure him
That he needn't care
And greed makes a stone of
What once was a heart

Raven's child
Is washing the water
All of her wing-feathers
Blackened with tar
Prince William shoreline's
An unwanted highway
Of asphalt and anger
An elegant scar

The oil king sits
On his arrogant throne
Away and above and apart
Lawyers have warned him
He mustn't speak
And greed has made silent
What once was a heart

You know there are walls
That come tumbling down
For people who yearn to be free
Still there are hearts
That long to be opened
And eyes that are longing to see

Raven's child is our constant companion
Sticks like a shadow
To all that is done
Try as we may
We just can't escape him
The source of our sorrow and shame
We are one

The true King sits
On a heavenly throne
Never away nor above nor apart
With wisdom and mercy
And constant compassion
He lives in the love
That lives in our hearts

Words and music by John Denver and Joe Henry

[No lyrics]

This song appears on five albums, and was first released on the I Want To Live Album, and has also been recorded on the Earth Songs, Country Classics, The Very Best of John Denver (Single CD) and The John Denver Collection - Rocky Mountain High Albums.


There are times I fear I lose myself
I don't know who I am
I get caught up in the struggle and the strain
With my back against a stonewall
My finger in the dam
Losin' strength and goin' down again

And I take a look around me
My eyes can't find the sun
There's nothing wild as far as I can see
Then my heart turns to Alaska
And freedom on the run
I can hear her spirit callin' me

To the mountains, I can rest there
To the rivers, I will be strong
To the forest, I'll find peace there
To the wild country, where I belong

Oh, I know some times I worry
On worldly ways and means
And I can see the future killing me
On a misbegotten highway
Of prophecies and dreams
A road to nowhere and eternity

And I know it's just changes
Yes, and mankind marchin' on
I know we can't live in yesterday
But compared to what we're losin'
And what it means to me
I'd give my life and throw the rest away

To the mountains, I can rest there
To the rivers, I will be strong
To the forest, I'll find peace there
To the wild country, where I belong
To the wild country, where I belong

Words and music by John Denver

This song appears on four albums, and was first released on the Autograph album, and has also been released on the Earth Songs, The Very Best of John Denver (Single CD) and The John Denver Collection - Calypso albums.

Goin' up to Alaska
Up to the land of the midnight sun
Where the whale and the polar bear run
O'er the icy blue sea

Goin' up to Alaska
Up to the north and the pioneer life
Where courage and strength still survive
And a man can be free

American Child, does the call of the wild
Ever sing through the mist of your dreams
Does it fly with the wind when you waken again
When it's gone do you know what it means

Can you picture the time when a man had to find
His own way through the cold
To come back again to all that you've been
Can't you see that it's time to come home

To the flowers and seas and the rivers and the trees
And the earth who's the mother of all
A promise once made - will it shine, will it fade
Will we rise with the vision or fall

Goin' up to Alaska
Up to the land of the midnight sun
Where the whale and the polar bear run
O'er the icy blue sea

Goin' up to Alaska
Up to the north and the pioneer life
Where courage and strength still survive
And a man can be free

Men can be free
Goin' up to Alaska
Goin' up to Alaska
Goin' up to Alaska

Words and music by John Denver and Joe Henry

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've taught us, the stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide and free as the wind swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to
The things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you so long and so well

This song appears on four albums, and was first released on the Seasons of the Heart Album, and has also been released on the Earth Songs, The John Denver Collection - Sunshine On My Shoulder and The Very Best of John Denver (Single CD) Albums.


Islands call out to me
Like the highlands that I always see
In my dreams of home
I am never alone when I am there

Islands like so many dreams
Are like canyons but off the main stream
And there's no one there
The dreamer is always alone

And the mighty blue ocean
Keeps rolling on every shore
Like the spirit that binds us together
We are so much more than islands

Islands belong to the sea
Like the dark sands of my memory
When the morning comes
They are stepping stones to the sun

And the mighty blue ocean
Keeps rolling on every shore
Like the spirit that binds us together
We are so much more than islands

Words and music by John Denver

Celebrate morning
The cry of a loon on a lake in the night
the dreams that are born in the dawn's early light
Celebrate morning

Celebrate living
The laughter that sings in the heart of a child
The freedom that flies at the call of the wild
Celebrate living

Celebrate evening
The stars that appear in the loss of the sun
Whispering winds, “We are one, we are one�?...

Celebrate earth Day, every day
Celebrate earth Day, every day
Celebrate land and sea
Celebrate you and me

Celebrate earth Day, every day
Celebrate land and sea
Celebrate you and me
Celebrate earth Day, every day, every day, every day, every day