tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post5491763874496294488..comments2023-11-01T00:38:49.400+11:00Comments on Ampersand Duck: A reading from the gospel of JohnAmpersand Duckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-85150863405138766252007-07-02T17:18:00.000+10:002007-07-02T17:18:00.000+10:00Oh, yee haa, indeed I won't.Oh, yee haa, indeed I won't.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-34198501632251290572007-07-02T02:42:00.000+10:002007-07-02T02:42:00.000+10:00JD IS retro cool you silly silly peoples!Dont give...JD IS retro cool you silly silly peoples!<BR/><BR/>Dont give up the faith!the sublime cowgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12388367782243102931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-58377159150167774142007-06-24T22:39:00.000+10:002007-06-24T22:39:00.000+10:00I'm even worse than the lot of you. I not only own...I'm even worse than the lot of you. I not only owned John Denver recordings on vinyl, I recently bought a CD for my son to listen to in bed :)<BR/><BR/>I gave up on him when he was uncool, but my God, what a voice. What tunes. It's a classic case of letting snobbery spoil a damn good thing. Mercifully this CD has perhaps his finest song on it, "Fly Away". Fabulous.<BR/>I think his version of "Leaving On A Jet Plane" was definitive. I do cackle about the story that he chopped up the bed he built for the famous Annie (yes, the sense-filler) with a chainsaw during a tiff, though.<BR/>And Duck, you can't go past Glen Campbell for voice again. Pure tacky gold, all of it. <BR/>We used to love "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife", "Phoenix" and a simply deadly cover he did of Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away(Ne Me Quitte Pas)".genevievehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895689949182365454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-31138056930567181002007-06-19T21:51:00.000+10:002007-06-19T21:51:00.000+10:00Are you sure we don't share a father? (Joke, obvio...Are you sure we don't share a father? (Joke, obviously) My dad loved John Denver too, so much that I bought him a retrospective concert CD a few years ago for Christmas. I grew up with the vinyls being played in the background. And my dad reads my blog, too.<BR/><BR/>That comment about the folk Croc Hunter juxtaposed under that photograph is a laugh - my god, he even looks like him there.Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570339715916432947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-12740843304010316152007-06-19T12:39:00.000+10:002007-06-19T12:39:00.000+10:00One of my favorite of Jenny Holzer's truisms is "m...One of my favorite of Jenny Holzer's truisms is "much was decided before you were born". In my case, that was the influence of John Denver in my life. There are relatives whose fondest memory of me is the time when I was 2 and I danced on the kitchen table at a big family summer get-together in nothing but a diaper and played along to "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" on a harmonica. There is also 8mm film footage of this.<BR/><BR/>I don't remember any of this. I remember being about 5 and drifting between being awake and asleep, lying in the cargo area of my parents' Jeep wagoneer, on the way to my grandparents' house, and hearing... oh dear, I'm not as brave as you, I don't think I can repeat some of those lyrics that meant so much to my 5 year old self. <BR/><BR/>That said, I admire the guy's total conviction and sincerity, and wish I could go back there again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-35720767006909855952007-06-19T08:41:00.000+10:002007-06-19T08:41:00.000+10:00Terry, it's flushing out stories like yours that m...Terry, it's flushing out stories like yours that makes me love blogging. Thanks for sharing!Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-72073337806462112172007-06-19T05:39:00.000+10:002007-06-19T05:39:00.000+10:00OK, I'm probably in your father's age group, but f...OK, I'm probably in your father's age group, but feel moved to share my John Denver story. We saw him in concert one winter night that just happened to be the night of the afternoon the cease fire was agreed upon bringing the end of our (US) involvement in VietNam, also my Dad's birthday. At his birthday dinner Dad dragged out a bottle of champagne, which he solemnly poured all around and raised his glass and toasted the end of the war in an emotion-choked voice. We hurried off to the Denver concert in a snow flurry. His sunny optimism perfectly suited our mood and at concerts end we walked out into a world of glittering white snow with a million stars twinkling above. It was one of the most perfectly perfect days of my life and I think of the feeling every time I hear John Denver.Terry Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16650965451863656517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-27225116038559270622007-06-18T18:32:00.000+10:002007-06-18T18:32:00.000+10:00Thanks for sharing! It struck a chord with me. My ...Thanks for sharing! It struck a chord with me. My dad used to sing Cat Steven's 'Morning has Broken' to similar effect.melihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10026675747253438229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-3721632718194441722007-06-18T16:30:00.000+10:002007-06-18T16:30:00.000+10:00I have it on good authority that having this song ...I have it on good authority that having this song played in a car with a genuine West Virginian really gives you a good understanding of what the song is all about. I wasn't there at the time, but the impression left on the story teller has impressed me.Mindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10634135486127575735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-37390756553777659102007-06-18T10:53:00.000+10:002007-06-18T10:53:00.000+10:00John Denver, John Schmenver, what I loved about th...John Denver, John Schmenver, what I loved about this post was what I learnt about your father and your obviously good relationship with him. This is something to treasure.<BR/><BR/>The phrase "worships something in the chapel of nature" is one I'll file away, thank you.Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04456736523331076619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-26530608580414918862007-06-18T10:28:00.000+10:002007-06-18T10:28:00.000+10:00I have to admit to loving a bit of banjo.Funny how...I have to admit to loving a bit of banjo.<BR/><BR/>Funny how everyone loves the early stuff. I bet he never gets requests for 'Perhaps Love'. Fresh is best!<BR/><BR/>Mick, the early stuff is spiritual without being overtly religious, which is the charm of young Denver. <BR/><BR/>'Take me home, Country Roads' was killed for my generation by its inclusion in the 'Sing Sing Sing' radio show and books, which meant we had to sing it at school as if it were a frigging anthem. <BR/><BR/>And I'd hate to think what else is sneaking around my brain from childhood osmosis. I realised just the other day that my love of Glen Campbell stems from the same timeperiod. Dad was telling me that he used to play Glen from his large-format reel-to-reel player until the cat discovered how much fun brown tape could be.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-1278856617997763822007-06-18T10:10:00.000+10:002007-06-18T10:10:00.000+10:00There are always JD fans lurking just below the su...There are always JD fans lurking just below the surface! <BR/><BR/>A guy who plays in our band looks like JD (we joke that he's a JD cross-dresser), sings like JD, plays like JD, and as far as I can tell can play the entire repertoire as well. Apart from the occasional performance of the obligatory Country Roads, we let him do Rocky Mountain and a couple of obscure earlier pieces that you wouldn't pick as JD. And in really desperate circumstances we let him Thank God I'm a Country Boy if we're in a tight spot. His own endeavours include a JD tribute show, which I haven't seen, but packs them in.<BR/><BR/>For all the 'put down' of JD his songs are guaranteed crowd pleasers. Country Roads gets 'em every time, although I guess having a 5-string banjo player on board helps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-37511589115992133012007-06-17T22:16:00.000+10:002007-06-17T22:16:00.000+10:00I wonder why it is so bad to admit to liking John ...I wonder why it is so bad to admit to liking John Denver? I am just like you Ducky. My parents owned a number of his records, and I have distinct memories of listening to his music.<BR/><BR/>It really is beautiful in lyric and composition. <BR/><BR/>I did get a little turned off when I got older and realised how religious he was, but that was in my young atheist intolerant days. I am more spiritual nowadays and appreciate it more.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the post :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-65586106107171153472007-06-17T22:05:00.000+10:002007-06-17T22:05:00.000+10:00Oh, dear, you are brave...No, seriously, what a gr...Oh, dear, you are brave...<BR/><BR/>No, seriously, what a great post. I haven't thought about JD in years...he was so eminently singable, at a time when one was first learning the words of 'adult' songs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8632542.post-77228171370001428622007-06-17T21:28:00.000+10:002007-06-17T21:28:00.000+10:00Nice stuff, Ms Duck. Like many muso-type people I...Nice stuff, Ms Duck. Like many muso-type people I know, I've been down on Denver since who knows when. But I have to say, singing Country Roads with the old 12-string twanging and a few voices in (more or less) unison is very, very rewarding.<BR/><BR/>Offspring no 1, who's a techno DJ most of the time, told me he once found himself driving down Canberra Ave in his old boss's car singing along to Help is on the way (LRB) at the top of his voice. He'd imbibed it subconsciously from me playing the record when he was little, he was amazed and a little contrite that he knew ALL the words.<BR/><BR/>There's far more goodness in nature and music than any religion, imho.philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12011647023598364166noreply@blogger.com