Back Home Again

By John Denver

🎵 Sing along with the full lyrics at LyricFind

“Back Home Again” was written by John Denver as the title track of his 1974 album — the record that made him arguably the biggest star in American music that year. The song is a simple, warm homecoming story: a long-hauler rolling down the highway toward the farm, where supper’s on the stove and his wife (expecting their child) is waiting. Released in September 1974, it hit #1 on the country chart — Denver’s first of three country chart-toppers — spent two weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, and reached the pop Top 5. The album itself went to #1 and multi-platinum, stacked with “Annie’s Song,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” and “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” with Annie herself smiling beside John on the cover.

Then came the fireworks. At the 1975 CMA Awards, “Back Home Again” won Song of the Year, and Denver was named Entertainer of the Year — country music’s top honor. Nashville’s old guard was not amused that a granola-friendly folk singer from Aspen had conquered their genre, and the previous year’s winner, Charlie Rich, made his feelings unforgettable: opening the envelope to announce the Entertainer of the Year on live television, Rich read Denver’s name, pulled out a lighter, and set the envelope on fire. It remains one of the most infamous moments in country awards history. Denver, watching via satellite, simply smiled and accepted graciously — and the song about the sweetness of coming home outlived all the controversy about whether he belonged.