'Take Me Home, Country Roads' Song Inspired By Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg MD

17 May, 2021

3:52 PM

Description

GAITHERSBURG, MD — John Denver's hit song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" wasn't inspired by a West Virginia road. It was inspired by Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The fun fact was shared in the "The Glass Gazette" — a monthly newsletter written by Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass. In a 1997 article for "The Washington Post," songwriter Bill Danoff said he wrote the song after driving to a family reunion along Clopper Road. "Back then," Danoff said, Clopper Road "was still a country road." Denver, Danoff, and his future wife, Taffy Nivert, performed the song the following night at Washington, D.C.'s Cellar Door. "(I)t seemed as though the audience would never stop applauding," Danoff wrote. "Next show same thing. We knew we had a hit." For those who need a refresher, here's "Take Me Home, Country Roads:"