John Denver Fan Page

Rhymes and Reasons by John Denver (click to pay the song. It will open in a new window using the music player from your computer.)

When I was a child, my father introduced us kids to John Denver music. My dad plays guitar and sings, so we had many fun nights hanging around outside, singing along with John Denver songs while Dad played his guitar.

The first song playing below (you have to click play to start it) is one of my all-time favorite songs, Rhymes and Reasons. The melody is so beautiful and the lyrics are haunting and prophetic. He even writes, "Though the cities start to crumble, and the towers fall around us..." which I take to be reference to September 11th.

John's songs are also happy and peaceful. My favorite version of the song is the version from the Rocky Mountain Collection CD. John has many different versions of his songs. Click here to listen to the original version that I love. Rhymes and Reasons

The other songs are my other favorites. I have a lot of J.D. "favorites". ;) These are mostly all songs about nature and pagan themes.

"Rhymes and Reasons" Lyrics
In the liner notes John says that this represents some of his best lyrics. He played this song for the UNICEF concert in 1979, although he wrote the song 10 years earlier.

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end
And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that you’ve forgotten
You tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend

And you wonder where we’re going
Where’s the rhyme and where’s the reason
And it’s you who cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

Like the music of the mountains
And the colors of the rainbow
They’re a promise of the future
And a blessing for today

Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And it’s colder than the sea

It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way

Words and music by John Denver

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