The Greatest Known Song

So a guy at my work posed an odd question. He asked which is the greatest song ever known out of the Miley Cyrus song "Party in the USA" and John Denver's song "Country Roads". Well there was quite the debate. I ended up defending John Denver just because well, I can't stand Miley Cyrus and sometimes a John Denver song just hits the spot. So here is the rebuttal I wrote.

Why Miley Cyrus Can’t Even Compare with John Denver

Disclaimer: I don’t have any strong ties to John Denver, I do admit I like some of his songs, and I certainly won’t turn the channel when a song of his comes on, unlike Miley who I will turn with just the mere mention of her name. I also would like to add that there are obviously other songs that would fit this category better but alas, this is what I have to pick from.

If you are looking for statistics you won’t get any from me, although I can certainly come up with more creditable ones than a mere google search and relying on that. Obviously Miley Cyrus would have more hits then John Denver, she’s young, she’s cute (so the boys say), she’s alive, and tweens are more apt to use the internet then the older crowd of John Denver’s era. Besides who cares what she wore at an awards show, or who she has kissed lately, or if her Hannah Montana wig stayed on properly? The John Denver fans don’t need to research him online because they paid for his cds, books, and life story. John Denver is worth paying for. I believe statics don’t prove a lot when it comes to music. Everything is so biased that it doesn’t really matter.

I would like to first compare the lyrics. First off John Denver is a true lyricist because he can say in just a few stanzas what is in his heart while Miley Cyrus needs 10 stanzas. He secondly doesn’t need to name drop. He uses what he’s talking about, the mountains, trees, rivers, roads, essentially the earth. The real USA. Without this wonderful land we have there wouldn’t be a Hollywood for all those rich celebrities to party on. He uses the 5 senses so you can identify with what he is feeling (a true poet). You can see, hear, smell, taste and touch the wonderful country roads that brings us to our favorite place, which is home. I guess you could say you see the celebrities, and you smell the sweat from the people who are dancing, or the stench of the feet in the stilletos. That’s great! I love thinking of those smells. I’m not saying I don’t love California I was born and grew up there. And I’m not saying I don’t love dancing, because I do, but if I had to choose a memory that truly meant something to me, it would be taking those roads back to my home. And on that note, John Denver’s song (which he did help to write) is a metaphor that all can identify with. He’s using his love of the mountains in West Virginia (which WV is considering making his song a state song) as representation of all our homes. Miley Cyrus talks about herself and how she feels awkward about fitting in. Which we can all identify with, I will give her that, but its in such a tone and image that makes me not even realize what she’s talking about. The DJ puts on a song so she can dance, Britney Spears (horrible role model of a choice to put in any song) and Jay Z. Really? Her simple lyrics simply show she has a simple mind. She isn’t any where near iconic as John Denver was at his time and still is.

In twenty years lets google both Miley and John and see who comes up with more hits. I’ll bet it will be about even, or John would have more. John is ageless and will forever be remembered via songs, movies, as an entertainer, award winner, and his charitable contributions and all around nice guy (who else sang with Kermit the Frog to make aware the problems of the earth. He was ahead of his time. Do the words global warming come to mind?) As a person I’m sure Miley is very nice, kind, helpful and loves the attention she gets by riding on here one hit wonder dad’s celebrity light, but John Denver was a no name that changed the world. Despite given her momentary popularity (which I don’t understand due to her bad acting skills-where has America’s standards gone?) she will be nothing but an out of work, no voice, middle-aged, trouble making, tabloids pictured person, whom I’m sure we will all feel sorry for. Nothing like John Denver who when spoken of, might get a grimace due to his genre, but still will be respected for his classy and iconic talent he brought to the world. How can you even mess with a legend? All hale John Denver, Poet for the Planet, Mother Nature’s Son and A Song’s Best Friend! (take that Miley and Hannah)