Rocky Mountain High

I was pleased to discover that the John Denver song “Rocky Mountain High” was adopted as another Colorado State Song in 2007. I’ve always loved this song, well, okay, I confess that I love all of John Denver’s music, but this has been our family’s ‘vacation song’ since it’s release in 1973. Although I was born in Missouri, and lived my junior high and high school years in Kansas, ever since I was a toddler Mom and Dad had been taking us to the Rockies for summer vacations.

And then, we were able to actually move to Colorado in my late teens! I lived there, up and down the front range, for twelve years. It’s likely that, if I hadn’t met Ron in 1999, I would already be back living in my beloved Rocky Mountains. Alas, they will have to wait for me, and I for them, until circumstances allow us to be together once more. While Maine is a very nurturing location, which is a big part of why I moved here the second time, the Rocky Mountain range is where I feel most invigorated and energized; it is where the sacred and the imaginal merge into an incredible euphoria. There is simply nothing else for me like walking/hiking the Rockies. Resting in the rocks, being with the beauty, viewing the visionary splendor. Being there, I am truly home elementally.

Meanwhile, I plan on making some trips out there in the near future, to commune with the energy of the Rockies. And I listen to John Denver regularly! His songs take me home to Colorado, the Rockies, and to the memories of fun-filled family vacations. My latest novel also is set in Colorado, which allows me to visit that locale regularly!

All I have to do is close my eyes, and the Rockies are there in my heart, mind and soul. The Rockies are Gaia, Mother Earth, in a form that resonates within me on all levels, from the crisp, thin air, to the magnificent jagged rocks, to the glorious pines and firs, to the hardy grasses and the delicate flowers in their often solitary innocence and uplifting beauty. Truly...Rocky Mountain High.

He was born in the summer of his 27th year

Comin' home to a place he'd never been before

He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again

You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away

On the road and hangin' by a song

But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care

It keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long

But the Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky

The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye

Rocky mountain high

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below

He saw everything as far as you can see

And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun

And he lost a friend but kept his memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams

Seeking grace in every step he takes

His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand

The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky

You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply

Rocky mountain high

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear

Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend

Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more

More people, more scars upon the land

And the Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky

I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly

Rocky mountain high

It's Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky

Friends around the campfire and everybody's high

Rocky mountain high

_________

The following video isn’t great quality but the audio is good, and it ends with John singing “Rocky Mountain High” after first telling his story of how the song came to be. Beautiful.

However, the next video below includes some fabulous photos of the Rockies, including unique sites like Mesa Verde and Garden of the Gods, plus a few views of Denver. The photos are beautifully choreographed to a later rendition of the song; a nice version, a little peppier, although I still prefer the original.

____________

ALTA LAKE (H)
free photo © Mike Norton | Dreamstime.com