Music Notes

Rocky Mountain High

My second track is another deceased artist, John Denver, with his 1972 hit Rocky Mountain High. He died in 1997.

This is a quaint and folksy song, describing the wonders of camping in the stars in Colorado. John Denver was an environmentalist who tried to share the beauty of the outdoors with others so it could be protected.

When my mom played me this song a couple weeks ago, I couldn't remember if I'd ever heard it before. I looked at Denver's biography, looked over the lyrics on Genius, and decided it's a good song from a well-meaning artist. People like to say it's about getting high, but he took great pains to explain it is not.

I like it because it paints word pictures of nature and the feeling of awe one gets when camping in the mountains under a brilliant sky, far from the interference of city lights. Though I've never been camping, I can dream about it.

Words: 160.