John Denver was an environmental activist; this song is likely a memorial for a friend and fellow activist who passed away. I also get the impression the man was Native American, from the metaphors used and how he lived his life. Verses that convey environmentalism:
...
But he learned to know the wilderness and to be a man that way
...
And he learned to be a farmer and he learned to love the land
And he learned to read the seasons and he learned to make a stand
...
...
There was somethin' [smog] in the city that he said he couldn't breathe
And there was somethin' in the country that he said he couldn't leave
Now some say he was crazy and some are glad he's gone
But some of us will miss him and we'll try to carry on
Giving a voice to the forest, giving a voice to the dawn
Giving a voice to the wilderness and the land that he lived on
John Denver was an environmental activist; this song is likely a memorial for a friend and fellow activist who passed away. I also get the impression the man was Native American, from the metaphors used and how he lived his life. Verses that convey environmentalism:
... But he learned to know the wilderness and to be a man that way
... And he learned to be a farmer and he learned to love the land And he learned to read the seasons and he learned to make a stand
...
... There was somethin' [smog] in the city that he said he couldn't breathe And there was somethin' in the country that he said he couldn't leave
Now some say he was crazy and some are glad he's gone But some of us will miss him and we'll try to carry on Giving a voice to the forest, giving a voice to the dawn Giving a voice to the wilderness and the land that he lived on