Portrait

This song was first released on the it's about time album. it is the only album it has been released on.

I want to play in the world game
I want to make it better it's ever been before
I want to play in the world game
I want to make sure everybody knows the score
About using less, doing so much more

Everywhere i'm going i see trouble
Everywhere i'm looking i see all kinds of pain
Maybe we can get back on the double
Maybe we can turn around and make it all change
They say it's you against your neighbor
If it gets right down to it, you against your friend
I swear that this is not the answer
As far as i can see it is the way it all ends

I want to play in the world game
I want to make it better it's ever been before
I want to play in the world game
I want to make sure everybody knows the score
About using less and doing so much more

Hey man, you know me i don't worry
Hey man, you know me i am never afraid
Only one thing can make me sorry
Something to say and then it never gets said
What kind of man turns on his brother
What kind of man turns his back on a friend
Who has the right to say it's over
Who has the right to see how far it can bend

I want to play in the world game
I want to make it better it's ever been before
I want to play in the world game
I want to make sure everybody knows the score
About using less, doing so much more

Yaweh yaweh yaweh jah
Yaweh yaweh yaweh jah
Yaweh yaweh yaweh jah
Yaweh yaweh yaweh jah

You and me you and me
You and me you and me

I and i - i and i
I and i - i and i

I want to play in the world game
I want to make it better it's ever been before
I want to play in the world game
I want to make sure everybody knows the score
About using less, doing so much more

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on two albums, and was first released on the aerie album, and has also been released on the country roads collection album.

All of my memories lay in the life of the highway
All of my nights in old motels a sleepin' alone
All of my days on the road with no one beside me
All of my dreams of a place that i can call home

Somewhere in the shade near the sound of a sweet singin' river
Somewhere in the sun where the mountains make love to the sky
Somewhere to build me a faith, a farm and a family
Somewhere to grow older, and somewhere a reason to try

This song was first released on the one world album. it is the only album it appears on.

I am the son of a grassland farmer
Western oklahoma nineteen forty three
I always felt grateful to live in the land of the free
I gave up my father to south korea
The mind of my brother to vietnam
Now there's a banker who says i must give up my land
There are four generations of blood in this topsoil
Four generations of love on this farm
Before i give up i would gladly give up my right arm

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

I had a son and my son was a soldier
He was so like my father, he was so much like me
To be a good comrade was the best that he dreamed he could be
He gave up his future to revolution
His life to a battle that just can't be won
For this is not living, to live at the point of a gun
I remember the nine hundred days of leningrad
The sound of the dying, the cut of the cold
I remember the moments i prayed i would never grow old

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

For the first time in my life i feel like a prisoner
A slave to the ways of the powers that be
And i fear for my children, as i fear for the for the future i see
Tell me how can it be we're still fighting each other
What does it take for a people to learn
If our song is not sung as a chorus, we surely will burn

What are we making weapons for
Why keep on feeding the war machine
We take it right out of the mouths of our babies
Take it away from the hands of the poor
Tell me, what are we making weapons for

Have we forgotten
All the lives that were given
All the vows that were taken
Saying never again
Now for the first time
This could be the last time
If peace is our vision
Let us begin

Have we forgotten
All the lives that were given
All the vows that were taken
Saying never again, never again
Now for the first time
This could be the last time
If peace is our vision
Let us begin, let us begin

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on three albums, and was first released on the windsong album, and also on the the country roads collection. it has also been released on the live in london album, as a live tr
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His spirit joined and so was formed
Ten thousand years ago
Between the swan and hercules
Where even dark clouds glow

To live with grace, to ride the swell
To yet be strong of will
To love the wind, to learn it's song
And empty space to fill

Apollo taught me to rhyme
Orpheus taught me to play
Andromeda cast down her sign
And vega lights my way

Smoke rings in a galaxy
An endless flight through time
Lyra gave her harp to him
And left him free to climb

A winter's journey from the moon
To reach the summer sun
To rise again, to sing for you
A song that's yet unsung

Apollo taught me to rhyme
Orpheus taught me to play
Andromeda cast down her sign
And vega lights my way

His spirit joined and so was formed
Ten thousand years ago
Between the swan and hercules
Where even dark clouds glow

To live with grace, to ride the swell
To yet be strong of will
To love the wind, to learn her song
And empty space to fill

Words and music by john denver and joe henry

This song appears on two albums, and was first released on the autograph album, and has also been released on the country roads collection album.

I don't know why
We still live together
We're so far apart
So much of the time
I don't know why
This beautiful weather
Is breaking my spirit
And tearing my mind all apart

Are you so lonely
Are you so sad
Have you lost your purpose
The faith that you had
If life is a question
I don't understand
If time is the reason
Then nobody can

In my heart it is just an illusion
It's not even real
Much more than you think
It's much more than you feel

My ears are still ringing
There's nothing to say
Why look to the ocean
To wash me away
There goes my best friend
There goes my last dime
If love is the answer
I'm wasting my time

In my heart it is just an illusion
It's not even real
Much more than you think
It's much more than you feel
Do you feel
Is this real
How i feel
In my heart

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on two albums, and was first released on the it's about time album, and has also been released on the country classics album.

There's a full moon over india and gandhi lives again
Who's to say you have to lose for someone else to win
In the eyes of all the people the look is much the same
For the first is just the last one when you play a deadly game

It's about time we realize it we're all in this together
It's about time we find out it's all of us or none
It's about time we recognize it these changes in the weather
It's about time, it's about changes and it's about time

There's a light in the vatican window for all the world to see
And a voice cries in the wilderness and sometimes he speaks for me
I suppose i love him most of all when he kneels to kiss the land
With his lips upon our mother's breast he makes his strongest stand

It's about time we start to see it the earth is our only home
It's about time we start to face it we can't make it here all alone
It's about time we start to listen to the voices in the wind
It's about time, it's about changes and it's about time

There's a man who is my brother, i just don't know his name
But i know his home and family because i know we feel the same
And it hurts me when he's hungry and when his children cry
I too am a father and that little one is mine

It's about time we begin to turn the world around
It's about time we start to make it the dream we've always known
It's about time we start to live the family of man
It's about time, it's about changes and it's about time
It's about peace and it's about plenty and it's about time
It's about you and me together and it's about time

Words by john denver, music by john denver and glen d hardin

This song appears on four albums, and was first released on the i want to live album. it has been released on the rocky mountain collection, the country roads collection and the country classics
Ms.

You came looking for the answers
To some questions on his mind
Seeking truth and understanding
In the hope that he would find
A way to better serve his brothers
And his sisters in the sun
Sharing all that he has given
Giving all to everyone

Come and listen to the story
Of a journey once begun
Of a people and their plenty
And their season in the sun
And how they gave themselves to symbols
And things that they could hold
Living lives in desperation
In the fear of letting go

It amazes me
And i know the wind will surely one day
Blow it all away
It amazes me
And i'm so very grateful that you made the world this way

For our plans have come together now
Where do we go from here
Will our differences divide us
Must we always live in fear
For there are things that we must move through
Some things to cast aside
But our father watches over us
Our mother will provide

It amazes me
And i know the wind will someday surely
Blow it all away
It amazes me
And i'm so very grateful that you made the world this way

It amazes me
It amazes me
It amazes me

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on two albums, and was first released on the i want to live album, and has also been released on the changes album.


If i had my druthers i'd go fishin'
Find myself a lake and a lazy day
If i had my druthers i'd quit wishin'
Get off the old caboose get on my way

Give me, whole lots of laughter
Great big barrels of fun
Nighttime full of romance
Daytime full of fun

If i had my druthers i'd go flyin' -ooh
Lookin' for the things i'd like to see - yeh
If i had my druthers i'd be tryin' tryin'
The only way to be what i can't be

Give me somebody to love me
Make me feel like the only one
Something that's worth doing more
I feel good when it's worked yeh yeh

If i had my druthers i'd go sailing - yes i would
Catch me campin' ou on the open sea
If i had my druthers i'd be singin'
Just how good this good life feels to me - feels so good

It just needs someone to talk to
Something you can't share
You don't need no reason for livin' long
It's already there - yes it is - ooh ooh

It makes me giggle
I can't sit down

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on seven albums, and was first released on the windsong album, and has also been released on the greatest hits vol 2, the very best of john denver (double cd), country classics
Country roads collection and the rocky mountain collection albums. a live version appears on the live at the sydney opera house album.

On the road of experience
I'm trying to find my own way
Sometimes i wish that i could fly away
When i think that i'm moving
Suddenly things stand still
I'm afraid

This song appears on three albums, and was first released on the it's about time album, and has also been released on the country roads collection. a live version also appears on the wildlife c
T album.


This is what it's like falling out of love
This is the way you lose your very best friend
This is how it feels when it's all over
This is just the way true love ends

First of all there's no one to talk to
When there is they just don't seem to hear
Words don't seem to matter much anyway
They can't describe the pain
They can't explain the fear

Then the nights grow cold and hard to live through
Still you hate to see the morning come
Somehow tomorrow doesn't matter much anymore
The future holds no promise
Your life's already done

This is what it's like falling out of love
This is the way you lose your very best friend
This is how it feels when it's all over
This is just the way true love ends

The you find your heart no longer flutters
You no longer look through a lover's eyes
What's to see when the world falls down around you
You simply can't believe it
But it comes as no surprise

This is what it's like falling out of love
This is the way you lose your very best friend
This is how it feels when it's all over
This is just the way true love ends

What's the sense of failure
It's such an incredible loss
It's all the things you'll never do
And all the dreams that will never come true

This is what it's like falling out of love
This is the way you lose your very best friend
This is how it feels when it's all over
This is just the way true love ends
Oh this is just the way a true love ends
I don't believe a true love ever ends

Words and music by john denver

This song appears on twenty-one albums, and was first released on the poems, prayers and promises album. this version has also been released on the very best of john denver (double cd), this is
Denver, reflections: songs of love and life, the country roads collection and the rocky mountain collection albums. it has been rerecorded on the greatest hits vol 1, take me home country roads
Other hits, favourites, voice of america, john denver (italian) and country classics. it has been rerecorded again on the earth songs, the very best of john denver (single cd), the john denver
Ction - sunshine on my shoulder and a portrait albums, and again on the love again and a celebration of life albums. live versions also appear on the live in london, the wildlife concert and the
Of john denver live albums.

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 a 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 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 always makes me high
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high
Sunshine almost always

Words by john denver, music by john denver, dick kniss and mike taylor

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) an
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

on the wings of a dream

Yesterday i had a dream about dying, about laying to
Rest and then flying,
How the moment at hand is the only
Thing we really own.
And i lay in my bed and i wondered, after all has been
Said and is done for,
Why is it thus we are here and so
Soon we are gone?
Is this life just a path to the place that
We all have come from?
Does the heart know the way and if not,
Can it ever be found
In a smile or a tear or a prayer
Or a sigh or a song?

And if so, then i sing for my father, and in truth, you
Must know i would rather
He were here by my side, we could fly on the
Wings of a dream.
To a place where the spirit would find us and the joy and
Surrender would bind us.
We are one anyway, anyway we are more
Than we seem.
There are those who will lead us, protect us
Each step of the way.
From beginning to end, for each moment,
Forever, each day.
Such a gift has been given, it can
Never be taken away.

Though the body in passing must leave us, there is one who
Remains to receive us.
There are those in this life who are friends
From our heavenly home.
So i listen to the voices inside me, for i know they
Are there just to guide me.
And my faith will proclaim it is so,
We are never alone.
From the life to the light, from the dark of
The night to the dawn,
He is so in my heart, he is here, he
Could never be gone.
Though the singer is silent, there still is the
Truth of the song, in the song.

Yesterday i had a dream about dying, about laying to
Rest and then flying,
How the moment at hand is the only
Thing we really own.
And i lay in my bed and i wondered, after all has been
Said and is done for,
Why is it thus we are here and so
Soon we are gone?
Oh, why is it thus we are here and so
Soon we are gone?

This medley was first released on the rocky mountain high album. it is the only album it has been released on. summer also appears on the an evening with album.

Summer

Silently the morning mist is lying on the water
Captive moonlight waiting for the dawn
Softly like a baby's breath a breeze begins to whisper
The sun is coming, quick you must be gone
Smiling like a superstar the morning comes in singing
The promise of another sunny day
And all the flowers open up to gather in the sunshine
I do believe that summer's here to stay

And oh i love the life within me
I feel part of everything i see
And oh i love the life around me
A part of everything is here in me

Riding on the tapestry of all there is to see
So many ways and oh so many things
Rejoicing in the differences, ther's no one just like me
Yet as different as we are we're still the same

And oh i love the life within me
I feel part of everything i see
And oh i love the life around me
A part of everything is here in me

Fall

Reflections on the water like shadows in my mind
Speak to me of passing days and nights and passing time
The falling leaves are whispering winter's on it's way
I close my eyes remembering the warmth of yesterday

It seems a shame to see september swallowed by the winter
And more than that it's oh so sad to see the summer end
And though the changing colors are a lovely thing to see
If it were mine to make the change i'd let it be

But i don't remember hearing anybody asking me

Winter

It's cold and it's getting colder
It's gray and white and winter all around
And oh i must be getting older
All this snow is trying to get me down

There's a fire in the corner slowly dyin'
Sometimes i just don't feel like goin' on
And yet i know it's more than worth the waiting
For another chance to see the summer sun

Come on, shine on me!

Late winter, early spring
(when everybody goes to mexico)

(instrumental only)

Spring

Open up your eyes and see a brand new day
A clear blue sky and brightly shining sun
Open up your ears and hear the breezes say
Everything that's cold and gray has gone
Open up your hands and feel the rain come down
Taste the wind and smell the flowers' sweet perfume
Open up your mind and let the light come in
The earth has been reborn and life goes on

Do you care what's happening around you
Do your senses know the changes when they come
Can you see yourself reflected in the seasons
Can you understand the need to carry on

Riding on the tapestry of all there is to see
So many ways and oh so many things
Rejoicing in the differences, there's no one just like me
Yet as different as we are we're still the same

And oh i love the life within me
I feel a part of everything i see
And oh i love the life within me
A part of everything is here in me
A part of everything is here in me
A part of everything is here in me

Words and music by john denver, mike taylor and dick kniss