Annie's Song

Infobox Single
Name = Annie's Song


Artist = John Denver
from Album = Back Home Again
Released = June, 1974
Format = vinyl record
[ Recorded = ]
Genre = singer/songwriter, Adult contemporary
Length = 2:58
Label = RCA
Writer = John Denver
Producer = Milt Okun
Reviews =
Last single = "Sunshine on My Shoulders"
(1973)
This single = "Annie's Song"
(1974)
Next single = "Back Home Again"
(1974)

"Annie's Song" is a song recorded and written by singer-songwriter John Denver. It was his second number one song in the USA, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. It also went to number one in the UK, where it was Denver's only major hit single (many of Denver's American hits were more familiar in the UK through cover versions by other artists).

"Annie's Song" was written as an ode to Denver's then-wife, Annie Denver (née Martell) of St. Peter, Minnesota. Denver "wrote this song in about ten-and-a-half minutes one day on a ski lift" to the top of Bell Mountain in Aspen, Colorado as the physical exhilaration of having "just skied down a very difficult run" and the feeling of total immersion in the beauty of the colors and sounds that filled all senses inspired him to think about his wife. [ cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/anniessong.shtml | title = "Sold on Song - Top 100 - Number 50 - Annie's Song" | publisher = bbc.co.uk ] [ cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/ram/anniessong_jdenver_ia.ram | title = "John Denver on writing Annie's Song" | publisher = bbc.co.uk | format = RAM ] The song has since become a wedding standard and an expression of love for many people, due to its grand imagery and the fact it could apply to anyone (Annie is not mentioned by name in any part of the song).

Dave Barry mentioned a mondegreen of the song: The line "You filled up my senses" was misheard as "You filled out my census."

Controversy

Monty Python did a send-up of the song on their "Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album" in 1980, called "Farewell to John Denver". The track contained a few bars of Eric Idle impersonating John Denver singing "Annie's Song" with joke lyrics: "you came on my pillow..." (followed by the sound of the singer being strangled) and was removed from subsequent pressings of the album on legal advice (reports differ as to whether it had to do with the licensing of "Annie's Song" or the depiction of the popular singer being murdered), and was replaced by an apology spoken by Terry Jones. Later CD releases of the album, however, reinstated the John Denver track.

Covers

*In 1978, flautist James Galway took an instrumental version to number three in the UK. He did this version to honor of his second wife, Anna (Annie) Renggli from Lucerne, Switzerland. Its tune is also used in the UK by "The Greasy Chip Butty Song", the main chant of fans of Sheffield United football club.
* Glen Campbell released a cover of "Annie's Song" on his 1995 album "Essential 32" (Capitol CDP-33834)
*"Love Their Country", the latest album from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, features a punk rock cover of Annie's Song. Some of the original lyrics were changed.
* The song was sung live in the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding" starring Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett - by three adolescents inhaling helium from party balloons
*In 2004, Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo posted his cover of "Annie's Song" on his MySpace page. [http://www.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist15.htm] The song was removed due to copyright issues though mp3s of the song are still floating around the web.
*In 2006, Christian artist Travis Cottrell released a cover of "Annie's Song" on his album "Found".
*The Kelly Family sang a German vocal version, "Die Freude am Leben kann uns niemand nehmen" on their German release CD, MEISTERSTUCKE.
*A Pakistani singer named Khalid Waheed made a cover of this song in urdu the title of the song was "Mere Jeevan Main Ana". Neeli appeared in the video. It was later included in a Pakistani Urdu movie Wafa in 1981
*The Wildflowers released a cover on the album "A stroll through the market" in 2006, as well as a parody, "Alan's Song"Singer songwriter Andy Stochansky has said " Sunshine On My Shoulder" was one of his favorite songs.

Footnotes