1983- January- Interview excerpts

[John Denver, despite his ostensible vulnerability, is a far tougher cookie than any of the singer/songwriters who originally defined the genre; not one of them proved to have the kind of personal staying power that could lead to a double date at Lake Tahoe with Frank Sinatra. ...What reaches out from the hotel suite are the bone-to-flesh sounds of a fistfight, only somehow the blows fall too regularly, the rest of the room is too quiet….and on the couch beside the coffee table, John Denver clenches his fists for another assault. Visibly disturbed and with that drumhead-taut look of someone who runs harder and eats better than you do and knows it, Denver appears a lot less like a man-sized Muppet than we’ve been led to expect. He looks more like an angry young man.]

“The thing I object to is that in regards to a nuclear freeze, we have two distinct sides and they’re like this! (thump),” protests Denver, starting to methodically pound his fists together with unnerving force.  “Nothing gets done! My observation is that nothing has gotten done (thump) for close onto 40 years now.  (thump) After the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (thump), many of the scientists involved said that the world is different now.  (thump) We need a new world order.  (thump) Violence is no longer an appropriate way (thump) to resolve conflict.  Forty years they’ve been talking about it, and this! (thump) Nothing (thump)..(thump) Nothing.”

[In the World According to Denver, we’d better start thinking in new ways about some old problems. Like hunger, pollution and war. We may stand at a new evolutionary step, and he’s ready to march on. It’s something he feels very strongly about, and he’ll explain why until his publicist is climbing the hotel room walls. It’s something he can even get angry about.]

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“It’s frustrating to me when people say that I’m always trying to be a ‘nice guy’, or something like that.  Well, I was raised well.  I do have respect for other people, and consideration for the planet, and I like to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.  That’s just how I am.  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.  I think it’s good.”

“I want to touch people, and I’ve said that from the very, very beginning. More than just entertainment, I want to connect with people and songs come out of that feeling.  Of primary importance to me is that whatever song I do, I want to be able to do it with just me and my guitar, and have it work.  Because that’s where they come from.  Hit records are not what my business is about.  What I’m trying to do is communicate.”

“Some people cannot play to the general public out there who watches television.  They have either not the desire, nor the specific talent.  Not that it’s any big deal or anything, it’s just that some people you invite into your living room, and some people you don’t.  Finding that you are perhaps the kind of person people feel comfortable enough with to have in their living room, then you ask yourself, what are the kinds of things I can do with that.  You find over the years that my success and career are not really based on any one particular medium or thing, unless it’s my personality and the way people relate to me.  I think that’s my most specific talent.  I don’t think I’m a great singer, and I’m not a great guitar player.  But I think I’m comfortable, honest and easy to relate to, and people like that.  It’s like I’m a superstar, but I’m not a superstar.  That’s not the way I live, not the way I want to be, and I don’t hold it over anybody. It’s not something special or incredibly unique, except that I’ve had the success I’ve had and I’m just like everybody else.  That’s the rarity.”

“The music is universal. Even in China, where a lot of rock and pop music doesn’t have any meaning to the people, they know my music and like it.  It’s not the Rocky Mountains I’m talking about, it’s self-discovery.  It’s not West Virginia I’m talking about, it’s country roads and going home.  It’s not the wheat fields of Kansas I’m talking about, it’s family. “

“If people feel comfortable with you and feel that you relate and articulate something they feel, then perhaps you find within yourself a lot of other strong feelings about things going on in the world.  

• ·       There’s something happening on the planet.
• ·       People are becoming more health-conscious, more aware on a worldwide basis of the threat of nuclear war.  
• ·       Where we are now perhaps, is an evolutionary change taking place, that life is no longer about survival and you or me, but about living and you and me.
• ·       We have the opportunity to make a conscious choice.
• ·       We can no longer live the way we used to.”

1991-The Flower That Shattered the Stone

@JDHealingTimeOnEarth...  In this time of great uncertainty and tragedy, let this song lift you up and inspire you to go forth and give of yourselves in making a difference in the lives of our collective children and for Mother Earth.  There are truths here in this song, and they are reminders for us all.   Work together for the good of all humankind.  Be the Flower.

Reaching out from Space

On numerous occasions John expressed his reasons for wanting to go into space.  The main reason was to bring people closer together.  He envisioned having live feeds over the areas of passage, and reaching out to kids particularly, to show them how wondrous it would be to be in space.

This is now being done.  You can view this video of how some kids prepared to have a live feed discussion with the astronauts recently.  Amazing!  

Inspiration for Today

@JDHealingTimeOnEarth.... Let us not be afraid to walk into the jungle of thoughts and ideas, for therein lies the secret to our humanity.

Be Strong.
Be Brave.
Be Peace.
Be Love.

1986- Interview

In this archival video interview, which we join in progress, you will find several topics of discussion ranging from politics, hunger and the spirituality of the music. You will also, if you have an open mind, be able to interpret these topics and what is discussed and translate them into metaphors for the issues that we are dealing with today. These are transcendent words of wisdom that John shares quite eloquently. (Best viewed with 'soft focus'.) See below.

[Shared for inspirational and educational purposes only. Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.]

Here are a few of the most notable quotes from this interview:

Inspiration

@JDHealingTimeOnEarth...



 As we stand on the edge of uncertainty and contemplate the ways we can proceed, let us remember that we are part of a whole, and the whole matters.

Mother Earth is depending on us.

John Denver - A Call To Action

               It’s time to rally.

          ‘Are you still with me?’

Dear Friends,

We presume most of the ‘likes’ to our page have been drawn here because of John’s music, which has touched you in some way and made a difference in your life. John’s music has themes of love and romance, for sure, but it also has themes of the environment, peace, inclusiveness, and harmony, with some humor thrown in to lighten the load. We have featured many of the most prophetic of John’s songs, interviews and speeches here on this page as a way to highlight and remember how steadfastly he worked for all of us, and to inspire people to continue on with this work.

John’s philanthropic work included co-founding The Hunger Project, which is still working to end hunger and have at-risk groups become self-sustaining in all areas of the world. He also co-founded the Windstar Foundation, which “was a connection between you and me. From this connection, we can all find ways to live out of our personal vision and passion for a sustainable future and a world that works for everyone. This connection is very personal and directly impacts the quality of your life. It is also that basis of transformation and new possibilities for humanity.” While this foundation is no longer, there remain many opportunities to get involved.

John was on the board of, or involved in, many other groups which support the causes which related to feelings of bringing people together in the world and safeguarding our environment, such as: · Friends of the Earth, · The Cousteau Society, · The Wilderness Society, · National Space Institute, · Save the Children, · World Wildlife Fund, · Friends for All Children, · The Alaska Coalition, · Nuclear Safeguards, · New Earth Exposition, · The American Indian Heritage, · Simpatico, · Environmental Defense Fund, · Fund for Animals, · Sierra Club, · Environmental Action, · Alaska Wilderness Preservation, - National Wildlife Federation, - Wildlife Conservation Society

In a letter of John’s from 1978, he writes:

“I would really like to invite you to look inside yourselves to find those things that make you unique in the Universe, and to see if you aren’t willing to share yourself, knowing that you can make an incredible contribution to all the life around you.  In this manner, you can direct your energy toward any of these situations, perhaps within the framework of one of these organizations, and really join me in taking individual responsibility for making our world a better place to live and a freer and safer place within which to realize ourselves and our oneness with the Universe.
…. Nothing would please me more than to know that there is an ever-expanding group of individuals who are working together, each in their own way, to improve the quality of life for all of the life here on Spaceship Earth.  That is what the music is about, that is what my life is about, and I rejoice in the opportunity of continuing our relationship in this new way.  I look forward to hearing from any of you about your thoughts and willingness to participate, and I will reiterate how very much your support and love has meant to me.  I love you all, and send you my best wishes for health and happiness for the coming year. Peace, John” 

Given the recent turn of events in the political landscape of the United States, it has become apparent that we have much to do to make sure the programs that are in place remain in place, and to further the work to help in our country and indeed, the rest of the world, so that everyone is treated fairly and so that our environment and our food supplies are protected, as well as insisting on peaceful relations with all countries.

In that endeavor, and to fulfill John’s continuing wishes, there will be opportunities posted here from time to time for you to participate, support, or volunteer in any of these areas which resonate most with you. Even if you don’t live in the U.S., there are opportunities to support these causes, or similar causes, from your home base, too. Sometimes all it takes is a click, and a name; sometimes you will feel moved to donate funds; sometimes you will be called to action in your community. Stay open to the possibilities.

In John’s song ‘Singing Skies and Dancing Waters’, there is this verse:

My life became shaded and I grew afraid and I needed to find my way home.

I just couldn't see you, I thought that I'd lost you.

I never felt so much alone. Are you still with me?

Somehow in reason, I lost sight of seasons, tides rolling out and rolling in.

Sometimes in evening when daylight was leaving, I thought I'd never see you again.

Are you still with me? Are you still with me?

I'm with you in singing skies and dancing waters, laughing children, growing old,

and in the heart and in the spirit, and in the truth when it is told.

As a global community of humanity who have been buoyed up by John’s music and who have been inspired by his actions to support Spaceship Earth and its’ inhabitants while he was here with us, it is of utmost importance that we find the reserves within each of us to have the courage now to step up and be counted on these matters so that we do not self-destruct, and so that the world we turn over to our children and our grandchildren will be one worthy of our love for them. Let’s form a coalition of engaged people, EarthKeepers, to stand for what we believe in, what John believed in.

We sincerely hope that you will participate in whatever way you feel comfortable. John loved us. Let us show John how much we love him and what he stood for, by your actions let him know that we ARE still with him; and how much we love each other, and that we still care deeply.

Sincerely,

John Denver-Healing Time On Earth Page