The song has had many lives over the years, first as a hit for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Denver in 1971. Now the song has been adopted as the U.S. Men’s National Team’s new anthem for the World Cup.
When it comes to oldies, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is as familiar as they come. Most people know at least a few words.
The song has had many lives over the years, first as a hit for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Denver in 1971. Several years ago, “Country Roads” became West Virginia’s official state song. And now the song has been adopted as the U.S. Men’s National Team’s new anthem for the World Cup.
After the U.S. team beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in Santa Clara on Monday night, U.S. players and coaches belted out lyrics for “Country Roads” arm-in arm on the field as the stadium speakers blared the song.
Little did most of the members of the team probably know, the song originated during a car ride down Clopper Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland, over a half century ago.
Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, two local singer-songwriters, were on their way to a cousin’s reunion at the Izaak Walton League in Gaithersburg in the summer of 1970. Cruising down Clopper Road, Danoff strummed his guitar while Nivert drove.
“On the way, we’re passing farms, cattle, sheep and horses and chicks and ducks and geese,” Nivert told me in 2020 for the MoCo’s Most Famous podcast.
Danoff started singing the words “country roads” over and over.
“The seed of the song started on Clopper Road,” Nivert said.
Many believe the song was called “Take Me Home, Clopper Road” at one point, but that’s not true, according to Nivert. Regardless, the duo knew they were on to something.
They originally wanted to give the not-yet-complete song to Johnny Cash, but they instead approached John Denver, who loved it.
On Dec. 30, 1970, Danoff and Nivert were with Denver at their basement apartment in Georgetown. They played two verses and a chorus for him.
“John said, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s stay up and just finish it. It’s really good,’” so they stayed up all night.
They rewrote the second verse and the chorus. The three rearranged the lyrics and title and “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was born.
The next day, New Year’s Eve, Danoff and Nivert were the warmup act for Denver at The Cellar Door in D.C. During Denver’s set, he brought them up and introduced a song they had just written. “We hope you like it,” Denver said, according to Nivert.
The song was so new, they were all reading from a lyric sheet they had taped to the microphone. The crowd went wild. The song became Denver’s first big hit, peaking at No. 2 on the charts in August, 1971.
Danoff and Nivert later married and formed Starland Vocal Band, best known for their 1976 No. 1 hit, “Afternoon Delight.”
We were “two hippies in a basement,” Nivert said. “Someday we’re going to write a hit song,” they would say. And then “Take Me Home, Country Roads” came into their lives.
“The song is just it’s own wonderful gift from the universe,” Nivert said.
A gift that keeps giving.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.