Over the years, I’ve embraced thousands of songs by various artists, but
I think no single musician has had a more powerful impact upon me, both
through his music and his life, than John Denver. Granted, the Western
singer-songwriter didn’t always live up to the squeaky-clean image he
presented to the world, and his intense dedication to music and
humanitarianism ultimately came at a cost to his family life.
Nonetheless, his gentle ideals and homespun melodies have permeated my
consciousness for as long as I can remember.
I was delighted, then, when my brother pointed out the John Denver Annie’s Song
ornament to me when we were browsing our local Carlton Cards back in
2004. Because the store was in the last stages of clearing house before
closing, I bought the ornament, third in a series honoring country
singers, for a song, which is appropriate given its theme.
John
rests on a rocky base of about three square inches, with the back
portion creeping up to form a boulder on which he can comfortably rest.
One of his brown cowboy boots is firmly planted in the moss that covers
the rocks up to the edge of a tranquil mountain stream. The scene looks
so picturesque that I would love to step into it. He sits in a casual
pose, his other boot resting on a small rock so that it is slightly
elevated. He’s in definite cowboy mode here in his blue jeans and his
cream-colored shirt with the snazzy brown Western design around the
collar. While he’s not wearing a cowboy hat, I think that’s mostly
because his head makes a sturdier perch for the loop for those who want
to suspend it from an evergreen branch.
John’s hair is brown and
fairly short, and wire-rimmed glasses cover his eyes. On his face is a
wide smile. He has a brown guitar strap slung over his shoulder, and he
holds a shiny silver guitar that he is meant to be in the midst of
playing. His right hand strums from above, while his left hand, on which
his wedding ring is clearly visible, reaches up from below to handle
the chord changes. It’s a very good likeness that really captures what
Denver was all about. As a nice bonus, the light gray base has his
distinctive signature scrawled across the front in black. Of course,
this ornament came out several years after he died, so he didn’t
actually put his stamp on it, but I’m sure he would have approved of
this keepsake.
One of the best aspects of the ornament is the
music. In the back you have a tiny knob that you press in to hear the
clip, and just above that is a little speaker. What you’ll hear,
naturally, is a snippet of Annie’s Song, and a pretty generous
one at that. In fact, you get the whole first verse, complete with
strummed guitar accompaniment. One of his earliest and most popular
songs, it was written for his wife and was one of those gifts that come
in a single flash of inspiration. A celebration of simple but profound
joys like the beauty of nature and the love of a kindred spirit, the
song has been a centerpiece at countless weddings in past three and a
half decades, and many consider it to be him at his most romantic.
You
fill up my senses / Like a night in a forest, / Like the mountains in
springtime, / Like a walk in the rain, / Like a storm in the desert, /
Like a sleepy blue ocean. / You fill up my senses; / Come fill me again.
It’s
sad to listen to this song and realize that the marriage it celebrates
didn’t last, but it doesn’t diminish the sense of euphoria encapsulated
in its few short lines. While it can go on the tree, the ornament, at
over five inches in height, is a bit on the large side for hanging.
However, its flat, sturdy base makes it ideal for placement on a surface
such as a desk or a side table. I keep mine out all year in a little
corner of the piano dedicated to musical inspiration; accompanying him
are a small headshot of Art Garfunkel clipped from the paper when he was
in Erie in 2000 and a statue of Schroeder playing the piano. They make a
merry trio. The ornament takes three AAA batteries, and in all these
years I’ve never had to change them. If they ever run out, though, I
will be sure to switch them out; there’s nothing like a few lines of Annie’s Song to provide a quick pick-me-up on a gloomy day.
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