COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME.
Sorry, I just got done belting out all of the lyrics to this song after seeing this on my social media feed. In an age where everything online seems to be divisive, it’s nice to see something like this going viral for a change.
According to this middle school teacher, a John Denver song that was released in 1971 is really connecting with the younger generation. Apparently “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is really big with middle school aged children, and my cynical guess is that they must have heard it on TikTok…
My hopeful guess is that the classic song spread naturally through word of mouth, or perhaps like how fashion seems to recycle decades every so often, John Denver’s music is somehow organically making a big comeback in the 2020’s.
The viral video, which shows a classroom full of kids singing along to “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” was posted online by the middle school teacher with the caption:
“What is it like teaching middle schoolers? My students requested one song today. This is what happened when I played it.”
That is awesome.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver really should be a part of school curriculum. You shouldn’t be allowed to leave grade school without being able to recite it word for word.
Social media users loved the fact that the folk song was making a comeback with Gen Z, and left these comments below the post, with the last one (about yearning for Appalachia mysticism) being my personal favorite:
The yearn for a simpler more wholesome time
— Garden Variety Woman (@Stephamaybe) January 29, 2024
great music transcends generations, we were obsessed with this song as kids too, all time classic
— Aesthetica (@Anc_Aesthetics) January 30, 2024
It’s basically an American hymn.
— samebro (@TheRealSamBlack) January 30, 2024
— Kiki (@kikisknees) January 29, 2024
THE CHILDREN OF AMERICA YEARN FOR APPALACHIAN MYSTICISM https://t.co/qa7owp7jbs
— doomer (@uncledoomer) January 30, 2024
And while you’re at it, you might as well fire up the famous John Denver song and sing along to it like these kids did:
