USMNT sings “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after CHS match

• USMNT, during the CHS match, sings “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver.
• Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino explains how the song was played after the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina ended 2-0.
• Associated Press reports that the song choice was influenced by its lyrics, which mention driving on Clopper Road in Maryland.

At halftime, the United States men’s national team (USMNT) played the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver while the match was underway. According to Associated Press, in the end it was gravity that pulled the stadium’s sound system down.

In the meantime, the USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino, who is in the United States, explains how the tradition of singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” began. According to Associated Press, he said the idea was to comment on why “Country Roads” is so catchy and easy to understand, as it comes from geography, and also because “simple, clear, and relatable” lyrics help get the crowd to sing along.

Associated Press also notes that the song’s meaning was explained by Bill Danoff, who wrote it with another songwriter, Taffy Nivert, after moving from Maryland’s Clopper Road to the suburbs of Gaithersburg, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, in West Virginia.

Danoff said that in 2020 he had the thought about “country roads” in the context of a road trip in New England, and that at the same time, he had a feeling that the song was not just about Maryland and would be about something else. Danoff also said that he found inspiration in music from the WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia, which he listened to while living in Springfield, Massachusetts, and also from the actor Chris Sarandon, who grew up in West Virginia, as well as from the singer from West Virginia, who he said he heard about. Danoff said that the song’s lyrics were inspired by the idea of a road trip and that the song’s chorus was based on the idea of a road trip. Associated Press reports that Danoff and Nivert planned to write a song for Johnny Cash, but the song was ultimately recorded by John Denver. The song was released in 1971; it became the biggest hit for Denver. Danoff said that John Denver’s accident in 1997 was the reason for the song’s popularity.

During the match, “Country Roads” was played again for the USMNT match, when the team defeated Australia 2-0 in Seattle. According to Associated Press, the song was played before the stadium’s sound system in the stands, as well as in the dressing room, and midfielder Weston McKennie sang the song with his teammates.

Associated Press also notes that 25 years of the song at Los Angeles Stadium brought it to the attention of USMNT fans in Turkey, as the song’s lyrics were played before the match. The song was also played in Santa Clara, when the USMNT played against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which ended with a win. According to Associated Press, at that moment, the song’s lyrics were associated with the midfielder McKennie and Sebastian Berhalter.

Before the USMNT match, “Country Roads” was played for the first time; according to Associated Press, its lyrics were heard in the stadium, and the song was played before the match started. The material also notes that the song is played because it is a tradition: the song is played before domestic matches at the stadium, and it is also played at the stadium in Munich in 2022.

According to Associated Press, the English Premier League Manchester United club also includes the tradition in its stadium, with the “home” part — Old Trafford. A parallel was drawn to another English tradition: playing Oasis’ “Wonderwall” before the start of matches against Croatia 4-2, and captain Harry Kane named the moment of that tradition from England.

Tags: USA/Sport/Football